Just Another Disney High Fic
by Communication Breakdown
Summary: Join your favorite characters, and witness their lives through high school. They aren't as ordinary as they seem. Watch them on their journey to self-discovery, all while they try to survive high school and unravel the mysteries of their world, which the adults seem strangely oblivious to. Drugs, drinking, sex, violence, and swearing. Dark events later on. You've been warned.
1. First Day

Obviously, being late on her first day of high school was not the impression Snow White wanted to make. But her alarm clock had failed on her, (the darn thing was so old - she'd told her stepmom she needed a new one, but to no avail), and then her stepmom had screamed at her all morning while she frantically tried to get ready. And now she was rushing to meet her friends before first bell.

You see, Snow White was not only a freshman, but a freshman at the most prestigious academy around: Walt Disney Academy. An institute designed specifically for the artistic, creative, and independent-minded. After her disastrous middle school years, (when her father died, and she had no friends, and she and her stepmom were constantly arguing, and she'd discovered her stress-related apple allergy...), her stepmom insisted on her attending a good school with her old friends (who were all a year or so above her, and that was why she was alone a lot in middle school). Also, it wasn't an overly expensive education by her stepmom's standards. And all the extracurriculars they offered might ensure that Snow White would spend a lot of time out of the house.

It was like her stepmom couldn't bare the sight of her...

She all but ran toward where Cinderella and Aurora were waving wildly at her. She skittered to halt a mere inch or so from them while they laughed at her.

"Alarm clock?" Cinderella gave her a poke in the ribs.

She nodded with the most light expression she could manage.

"Well, make us late, why don't you?" Aurora joked, giving her tiny friend a hug. "You look cute, by the way."

Now Snow White really smiled. "Thanks!" It was a simple outfit: a blue blouse with a red cardigan, a yellow pencil skirt, red flats, and her signiture red ribbon adorning her black bob. She always kept it simple, even with her make up. Just mascara and a touch of red lipstick. Her lips were so naturally red that she only used it on special occassions, and her cheeks were just naturally rosy. She looked kind of like a china doll. "You guys look great, too!"

Both her older friends were dressed pretty simply. Cinderella wore brown cargoes and a pale green top with brown flip-flops. Aurora wore a blue pleated skirt with a fancy-as-fuck pink blouse with matching pink heels. She laughed at Snow's words first. "Thanks! You know, I just could not decide between blue or pink today. And then my aunts got into this huge arguement about it, so my mom suggested a compromise."

Snow laughed with her, but felt a pang in her chest as she shared a look with Cinderella. Her other friend's casual state meant that she was either embracing her lazy side at last because it was her junior year or...

"Was your morning as disastrous as mine?" Snow joked, regretting the words instantly. But Cindy's easy smile showed that no harm was done.

"Just Anastasia and Drizella, as usual. I had to lay out their clothes, cook their breakfast, pack their lunch, make their beds, clean up after them in the bathroom, and then drive them to school a good 20 minutes later than what was initially agreed. So, you know, the usual."

"Right..." Snow felt horrible now. She and Cinderella had enough in common: both of their dads were dead, they were wealthy enough, they both had wicked stepmother who didn't seem to care for them much. But Cindy also had two horrid stepsisters who lived to make her miserable. And while Snow did chores, majority of housework was done by maids. Cinderella did ALL of the work in her home. "I don't see why your stepmom doesn't hire maid..." But she already knew the answer.

"Well, I work for free." Cindy said absently.

Snow White caught Aurora's eye sadly, and caught a glimpse of something unreadable in the blonde's violet irises. Sensing the impending awkwardness, Aurora spoke to the freshman with a smile while Cindy's mind wandered. "Have you gone to check your homeroom number yet?"

Snow blinked at her. "No..."

"The rooms are posted over here; I'll take you to the freshie section." Aurora smirked.

Snow gave her a playful poke. "You say that like you weren't a freshman just last year!"

"Well, that doesn't matter, because I'm not one this year!"

Aurora led her to the posted rooms with the huge sign over them that read: FRESHMAN. Cindy followed them distractedly. Snow scanned for her name quickly after Aurora fought their way through the crowd. Then they quickly escaped.

"Well?" Cindy prodded.

"I have Ms. Porter."

"Oh, Jane!" Aurora gushed. "Oh, she's a sweetheart!"

"She's a teacher now?" Cinderella seemed surprised.

"She wasn't before?" Snow frowned.

"Well, last year, she was a teacher's assistant." Aurora explained.

"And the year before that, she was a student- she was a senior when I was a freshman." Cindy added.

Snow felt her already large eyes grow. "What?!"

Cindy nodded while Aurora bounced and squealed. "Oh, Snow! She is SO nice! You will love her!"

Snow decided to cast her doubts aside and join in her friend's excitement. Then she noticed that Cindy was distracted again, peering at something over Snow's shoulder. Snow turned to follow her friend's gaze and froze.

There stood Charles, a tennis player who had been aptly nicknamed "Charming". Next to him was Phillip, a tall and very quiet but kind basketball player who was...

Snow followed her gaze to find that he and Aurora were totally having a moment. How long had that been going on? Then she turned back to the group of boys, and subsequently felt her heart stand still.

There stood the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen. No, he wasn't a boy. He was, like, a man! Was he even a student? She honestly couldn't tell... Oh no, she was staring! Was he smiling at her?! She silently prayed that he wasn't the one Cindy was watching as she returned his smile quickly and whirled back around. Cindy didn't even seem to notice the exchange.

"Are you looking at Charles again?" Aurora asked the other blond.

Cindy turned tired blue eyes on her friend. "I can't help it. Do you think he misses me?"

"Of course he does! Phillip tells me all the time! Why don't you guys just get back together?" Aurora pushed on.

"You know how my stepmother is... And my stepsisters would lose it again, like they did last time. They're both still so enamored with him..."

"Who cares? Just meet up in secret! No one has to know! And it's so romantic..." Aurora sighed.

Snow glanced between the two. "What's going on?"

"Charles and I used to date, but we broke up over the summer..." Cindry drifted off as her eyes strayed back to the tennis player.

"Because of Anastasia and Drizzella?"

Aurora nodded, suddenly looking angry. "The pair of them threatened to kill themselves if they didn't break up. Obviously, their mom had to enforce it. They never would have done it, though. They love themselves too much- everyone knows it."

Snow just looked shocked. "Oh... How horrible of them."

"Are we supposed to expect anything else from them?" Cindy said glumly, then turned her gaze to her feet.

Snow hadn't even noticed the footsteps approaching from behind her. Then she saw Aurora being hugged by the boy named Phillip, and Charles was talking.

"Here are my girls! We were just looking for you guys!" He looked down at Cindy, who was still averting her eyes. "Hey, Cindy." He greeted her warmly, with a genuinely friendly smile that barely reached his eyes.

Cindy looked up at him with a grateful smile. "Hi, Charles."

There was a moment where they just kind of smiled at each other, and then there was a brief and very awkward hug.

It was the single cutest thing Snow White had ever seen.

A silence permeated the group, and Snow realized that the boy/man from before was, like, watching her. She cast a shy smile his way, ducking her head a bit. He laughed a little and pretended to look away, but she could tell that he was giving her a sideways glance.

Suddenly, Aurora was attacking him and Charles with hugs. "Charles, you're a senior! Ah!"

Charles laughed. "Yeah, I know..."

Then he and Phillip both seemed to notice Snow for the first time. "Is this the friend you were telling us about?" Phillip asked as he sent a smile and a wave her way. It was the first time she'd heard him speak, and his voice was so soft it almost didn't seem to be his.

"Oh! Yes. Guys, this is Snow White!" Aurora gestured grandly toward her tiny friend with both arms and a smile.

All the guys said hi with a smile and a wave, and she returned the gestures meekly. Cindy laughed as she rested her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders.

"She's a freshman, but be nice." Cindy warned.

"Yeah, if you hurt her, we hurt you!" Aurora added, pointing a finger at all of them just to be sure the point was clear.

All the guys laughed.

"Don't worry, she's safe." The one very handsome and still unnamed boy said with a grin at her. She thought she saw him wink, but she couldn't tell because she was swimming in the sound of his voice.

Then the bell rang.

"I'll take you to your class." Cindy spoke as she hooked her arm around Snow's. "I'm in the same building as you."

Snow looked around as Aurora ran off toward a girl with bright red hair and a purple tank top. The two girls hugged and squealed before disappearing into the crowd. And the boys were dispersing too. Snow shared one last smile with the mystery boy and Cindy led her away hastily.

Ariel and Aurora rushed to get seats next to each other at the classroom windows. The teacher, a Messieur Maurice, smiled at them from under his mustache. The girls weren't exactly thrilled to have Physics as first period but the teacher seemed nice enough. Aurora was too busy gushing over Ariel's purple tank and sea-green capris to notice her surroundings. And then came the topic of Ariel's new hair color.

"When did this happen? I just love it!"

"Oh, I just did it last night. My sisters thought it would be cute, you know, it was mom's favorite color. Dad didn't really approve but he got over it."

Aurora nodded. She didn't know anything about parents being disapproving, but she pretended she did so her friends wouldn't be afraid to talk to her about issues at home. The only reason why Aurora hadn't called Child Protective Services for Cindy was because Cindy had begged her not to time and time again.

Ariel's situation was a little different. She was the youngest of seven daughters, and her dad was the one in charge. Her mom had passed away back in grade five. But, like most of the people Aurora found herself associated with, Ariel was wealthy and lived a huge home with dozens of servants. Ariel, however, had the luxury of living right by the beach.

Then a tall boy with a shock of black waves and bright blue eyes walked in and took a seat on the opposite side of the room. He sent Ariel a wave and a friendly smile before beginning to search through his backpack. Aurora sent her dreamy-eyed friend an inquisitive look.

"Oh," Ariel leaned forward and whispered,"I saved him from drowning over the summer."

Aurora felt her eyebrows skyrocket. "Oh, really?"

Ariel sighed and smiled. "Yeah... we were all picknicking with his family. We're neighbors, you know. And me and my sisters were playing frisbee with dad when his butler suddenly yelled 'He's drowning, he's drowning!' Apparently, he'd been hit by a boogie board and got knocked out, and the undertow started to drag him out. So I put my lifegaurd training to good use." Sigh... "And then he told me about how his grandfather had died at sea, and thanked me for saving him from the same fate."

Aurora knew her eyes were too wide to believe the cheesiness, but she pushed on. "And then what happened?"

Ariel got all excited, like that was the best part. "Oh! We just went on with our picknick, but he and I hung out the whole time, and his parents were so grateful that I saved him that they invited us to their place for dinner that weekend- I spent majority of the summer at his place, like low-key- and there was a campfire on the beach that night and we roasted marshmallows and he played his guitar and I sang for him!" Another sigh. "He's so...great!"

Aurora rolled her eyes but shared in her friend's smile as she cast a glance back at the boy. He seemed pretty great, and he, uh..._looked_ pretty great. She'd seen him around; he was a skater kid, but he was also captain of boy's swim and water polo teams. He was also on the ultimate frisbee team- she couldn't believe that that was a serious thing until she realized that it had been established by a group of stoners- and he hung around with her guy friends all the time. So how come she didn't know his name?

"And, uh... What do we call him? You never mentioned him over summer." Aurora narrowed her eyes at the red-head.

Ariel looked sheepish. "Sorry..." Then she just smiled, and of course, sighed. "He's Eric."

Aurora nodded. Now she could identify him as the kid who accidentally hit her with a water balloon last year. But that was his only offense she knew of.

"You two would make a cute couple." Aurora said with a nod.

Ariel gasped. "Oh, I knew it!" She squealed. Then she looked a little lost. "So...what do I do now?"

Aurora had almost forgotten how clueless Ariel was about guys. She laughed at the red head and began searching through her bag for a pen and paper. "Just keep being friendly. Flirt here and there, but don't get all weird. Stay close and stay kind, and eventually he'll be yours." Aurora winked.

Ariel squealed and clapped. "You always give the best advice!"

Aurora performed a theatrical hair flip. "I know."

They laughed and then took the time to examine the other kids who had filed in. No freshman so far, thank goodness. Aside from Snow, those little shits were sooo annoying. The main group of stoners, trouble-makers and "outcasts". (If they were actually called this by anyone it was because they purposefully excluded themselves- or that was how Aurora saw it.) This group consisted of Esmeralda, Pocahontas, Megara, Pheobus (who was actually pretty popular), Aladdin and Flynn Rider, notorious smooth-talker and thief, among other things. They were all seniors. Usually Pocahontas' s boyfriend, John Smith, and their two friends Nakoma and Thomas as well as another girl named Kida, (who Aurora actually really liked), would be there too, but they seemed to be in a different class this time round.

_Weird, they're usually inseperable. Maybe Flynn's lost his touch a bit. _Aurora thought ruefully. Flynn could usually talk an office lady or counsiler into anything. Like, say, making sure all of his friends surrounded him in every class for the price of maybe 20 bucks. Needless to say, the group made enough noise and general chaos despite their diminished numbers.

Then Jasmine walked in, and Aurora waved wildly to catch her attention. Jasmine smiled and strolled over to join her and Ariel.

"Hey Jazz!" Both girls chimed as Jasmine took her seat. Jasmine beamed back at them. "Hey guys!"

"Love the top!" Ariel cheered.

"Thanks!" Jasmine looked down at the teal midriff fondly. "I just bought it last week."

"Lol, your dad didn't notice, huh?" Ariel gushed.

"Of course not."

But Aurora's was too focused on what lay exposed by the top. "Is that...a bellybutton peircing?!"

Jasmine laughed. "Don't act so surprised. I told you I was gonna do it!"

"I thought you were joking!"

"Wicked!" Ariel cut in, leaning in for a closer look. "Oh, look at the rock on that thing!"

"Yup. My birthstone." Jasmine smirked. "And shaped like a jasmine flower."

"Perfect!" Ariel gushed.

Aurora felt a little disturbed by the foreign object. "I'm guessing your dad didn't notice that, either?"

"Actually, he approved of it as long as I didn't go around showing it off. But then, literally a week later, I saw this top and... Well, I couldn't resist!"

"Oh, it's sooo cute!" Ariel clapped.

"Yeah... it is." Aurora nodded, then was blessed to have her attention caught by something else. "Oh, no..."

Ariel and Jasmine followed her gaze. Jasmine groaned while Ariel mumbled, "Oh, gross."

Gaston replied to this with a wink as he passed. "Hey, ladies." Then he took a seat right by Megara so he could harrass her. It wouldn't be too long before he got punched...

Then a tall girl in a plain white tee tucked into blue jeans that had been rolled up a few times came rushing in, giving the teacher a smile and a wave as she hurried to her seat. "Hello, dear." He smiled quickly.

_Whaaaaaat? _Aurora didn't know whether or not to be grossed out. She recognized this girl. Her brown hair was pulled up in a pony tail and her strangley colored eyes were hidden behind thick-rimmed classes. _Such a hipster... _

Aurora thought absently. And then it hit her. The teacher was this girl's dad. She remembered seeing them together at numerous school events, and they were always near each other in the parking lot. And, the girl's time was usually spent in the library or in this classroom, but she didn't seem to be a science geek...

She decided that this must be the truth and relaxed. Then a tiny girl in a cutesy blue dress walked in sheepishly and wandered toward a seat right in the front. Her brown curls bounced slightly as she walked.

_Freshman... _Aurora rolled her eyes. The only one so far. And in with this crowd, she'd never survive. But something about this girl called for sympathy. It took Aurora a moment to realize that this girl reminded her of Snow. Aurora made a mental note to keep an eye out for her.

Another nameless face came stomping in, an amazingly tall boy with a mess of dark blond curls falling around his face and loose, sloppy clothes. He marched to a seat all the way at the back of the room and sat in silence.

_Weird. _Aurora thought while Ariel and Jasmine talked about whatever. Then the bell rang and everyone was quiet long enough for Maurice to take roll.

"Adam? "

"Here." The boy in the back raised his hand.

"Ah. Ariel?"

'Here! " She chimed.

This continued for a while. Aurora managed to learn the names of the freshman, (Wendy), and the hipster girl. ( Belle.)

After Maurice explained what they would be learning this year and that all they needed was a pen or pencil and a notebook for this class, it was a free-for-all. In the middle of the mayhem, a wild-looking red-headed boy burst in making absurd rooster calls while the little blond girl behind him cackled with laughter. Maurice got their names, (Peter and Tinkerbell), and the two sat down with Wendy.

_Good, she's got friends. _Aurora thought. Then, as an afterthought, _Tinkerbell's a stupid name._

Three periods passed with no incident, leaving all the students a little stir-crazy and incredibly grateful for lunch hour. Flynn lounged with his group under their usual tree in the courtyard, completely protected from the sun. Esmeralda and Pheobus were flirting-but-totally-not-flirting, Pocahontas and Aladdin were discussing the more evil teachers they'd been stuck with. And Kida was chilling in the highest part of the tree. Life was good. He took as big a bite out of the cupcake which he totally hadn't stolen from a freshman as he could manage, not noticing the frosting that clung to his nose. Pheobus laughed and tossed a french fry at him.

"What, you couldn't snag me one?" Pheobus joked, eliciting a laugh from Esmeralda. Aladdin and Flynn started tossing food around. Pocahontas took refuge up in the tree with the cackling Kida. Esmeralda tried to sheild herself with her geometry book. It was only when Meg arrived that the ketchup-drenched french fries and squishy grapes quit raining down. Meg took a seat next to Esmeralda and placed the tray of pizza, potato wedges, and pudding between them to share.

"Isn't it about time you guys grew up?" Meg drawled, ripping off her half of the pizza and biting into it. Esmeralda started on the potatoes.

"Please! Senior year? Now is as good a time as any to just let loose and chill." Flynn replied. "Especially since we're losing our buddy Pheobus!"

Meg rolled her eyes over toward the blond, waiting for the inevitable...

"Do you really have to join the military?" Esmeralda gave him a little push.

"Well yeah. I've only been training for it my whole life. It's important."

"Oh."

"Why, you gonna miss me?"

There was a heavy pause.

"Well, yeah. We all are. It's gonna be boring without you..."

_There it is, _Meg thought with another eyeroll as she went back to her pizza. It was a little awkward after that. Then, Pocahontas and Kida both poked their heads out of the tree.

"We are gonna miss you, Pheebs." Pocahontas said with a sad smile.

"You had better be one great warrior." Kida added a little bitterly.

Pheobus laughed. "Gee, thanks."

Esmeralda used the potatoes to block the whole exchange out. Then, she heard footsteps approaching.

"Pokie!" Nacoma called up into the tree, sitting at the base with Thomas and John. Pocahontas slid down and into John's lap, snatching his orange with a giggle. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. Flynn almost screamed like a girl when Kida dropped down from the tree and landed next to him. She laughed at him and crawled over toward the center of the group. Flynn suddenly realized that at some point Kida and Pocahontas had ditched their shoes. He looked up to see a pair of moccasins and a pair of blue flip flops sitting on the hightest tree limb. And when he looked back at the group, all the other girls had let their feet free too. He just shook his head.

Suddenly, Mulan threw herself onto the grass in front of them with a baleful moan. Half of them just stared, the other half giggled. Mulan was the newest addition, and the youngest, being a junior in their group. Pocahontas and Esmeralda had met her through some group project. By now everyone knew how melodramatic she could be when she was restless.

"What's up, Mu?" Meg asked, only half-interested.

"There's no girls football team!" She said with a groan.

"What do you care? You're already captain of all the other girls' teams!" Flynn exclaimed.

"Not true. Ariel's captain of swim and water polo, Tiana's captain on tennis, Aurora's captain of cheer, I'm captain of dance, and..." Esmeralda trailed off.

"And I'm captain of track and feild. Thanks for remembering." Pocahontas chimed in.

"And our ultimate frisbee team is unisex, so Mu's just a co-captain." Pheobus pointed out.

Flynn rolled his eyes. "WhatEVER."

"But isn't it a little wrong that there's no girls football team? I mean, there's everything else, why not football?" Mulan asked.

"Well, have you seen the majority of the girls at this school?" Nakoma pointed out.

"These girls can't even stand to look at each other let alone tackle each other." Meg grumbled, not seeming to care about how weird that logic was.

"Yeah. Who would you get to play?" Kida put in.

Mulan looked so forlorn that Aladdin actually felt like saying, "Why don't you just audition for the dudes team?"

There was a pause. Then Pocahontas turned to John. "Do you think they'd let her on?"

He ran a hand through his sandy blond locks. "I could certainly put in a good word."

"It's worth a shot!" Esmeralda grinned.

"Who's the captain of the football team?" Mulan demanded.

"Lee Shang." John replied. "We could set up a meeting with him."

Mulan smiled. "Sounds great!"

"Speaking of football players, someone's checking you out, Meg." Esmeralda winked at her friend.

Meg rolled her eyes as she continued playing with her ponytail. "If it's Gaston, just ignore him. I told that ass-"

"It's not Gaston." Esmeralda cut in.

Meg turned to send her iciest glare at whoever was oggling, and felt herself freeze. She'd forgotten about Hercules.

"Looks like he never moved on."

"Ugh. I kissed him once, at a party, and I was drunk, and there wasn't even any tongue!" Meg looked toward the sky.

"Well, he's cute." Esmeralda said.

"And he's really sweet." Mulan added.

"And he really likes you." John chimed. "And not just for your looks or the romanticly drunken kiss; he seems to think that you are genuinely a great person."

"Poor kid." Meg grumbled.

Snow White crept in through her front door around 2:30. As she passed the kitchen, her stepmom's voice called to her.

"How was your first day as a high schooler?"

Snow prepared herself as she entered the kitchen with the most pleasant expression she could manage. "It was good. I picked up a bunch of flyers for electives I could join. I'm thinking of joining drama and choir, and maybe the tennis team."

"That's great, child." Her stepmom drawled as she glanced through papers. Servants were rushing around everywhere which meant someone had probably been yelled at or even fired if they'd made her stepmom mad enough.

"I might try out for the musical this year. Apparently pretty much everyone participates."

"Hmm."

Snow paused, then asked carefully, "How was work?"

"Oh, you don't have to pretend you care, dearie." The woman drawled sarcastically.

"No, I really wanna know. Snow even scooted a little closer to prove it.

Her stepmom gave her a very long, tired look before letting out a sigh and returning her gaze to the papers. "Well... Traffic was a bitch, and then my project that I've been working on for the last three years was cancelled."

"Oh."

"Yes. Very tiring. But I did get that promotion."

"Oh, well that's good."

"Yes." Her stepmom looked at her again, monentarily narrowing her eyes. "Listen, Snow. I want to apologize for this morning. High school is stressful enough without me giving you a hard time."

"It's fine." Snow looked down at her lap.

"Well, to make up for it, I went out and bought you this on my way home." She pulled out a shopping bag and pushed it toward her.

Snow reached in and pulled out a box. She read the lable and smiled. "A new alarm clock?"

"Yup." Her stepmom smirked. "Consider it my way of saying, 'Let's be friends'."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think you and I should go back to the good old days. You know, like when your dad and I first got married. Movie nights and baked goods. That kinda stuff."

"Wow." Snow honestly couldn't believe it.

"If you want, that is."

"Yeah, I do."

"Good."

They smiled awkwardly and then looked down, sitting in silence. Finally, her stepmom spoke again. "Do you have your list of school supplies so I can pick them up for you during this week?"

"Oh, yeah." Snow pulled numerous papers out of her bag and handed them over.

Her stepmom glanced over them. "Right. I'll get on it tomorrow. I'm working from home this week."

"Thank you."

"Mm-hmm."

"Um..."

"Yes?"

"Cindy and Aurora were wondering if I could hang out with them tonight. At Aurora's. I could eat over there."

"Of course you can. Home by ten."

"Okay. Thanks." Snow took off for her room to text Aurora to come pick her up.

Her stepmom watched her go with a tired expression, a bittersweetness resting in her chest.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES!**

**a) I know, slow start.**

**b) Yes, I know I should be working on my Sherlock sequals, or starting on my Star Trek:2009 fic, but after reading a few of these, and thinking about how much fun they must be to write, I couldn't resist. So this is just for fun, really. **

**c) I will try to distribute focus evenly on all characters, but there will be some favoritism, obviously. (Everyone has favorites!) I won't be paying too much attention to characters from movies like Little Mermaid or Pocahontas because I personally do not like those too much.**

**d) To be clear-**

**FRESHMAN: Snow White, Wendy, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Alice, Lilo, Christopher Robin, Andy, Chip**

**SOPHOMORES: Ariel, Aurora, Gaston, Giselle, Tiger Lilly, Gaston's three bimbos, Merida**

**JUNIORS: Jasmine, Mulan, Ling, Lao, Chan Po, Phillip, Mystery Prince from Snow White (CAN ANYONE TELL ME A NAME?), Cinderella**

**SENIORS: Belle, Adam, Flynn, Esmeralda, Meg, Tiana, Lottie, Naveen, Anastasia and Drizella, Pocahontas, Nakoma, John Smith, Thomas, Kida, Milo Thatch, Hercules, Charming, Pheobus, Aladdin, Shang, (Repunzal soon to come!)**

**...To name a few! There will definitely be more characters to come, I'm sure, including a couple of Ariel's sisters and maybe a few extra fairies. Lots of stories to come, and the chapters will all be looooong.**

**Be sure to follow me so you can keep up with all the craziness in the numerous fics I have planned! ^.^**

**Or don't. Whatevs.**


	2. Author's NoteApology

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**Sorry. :^/**

**If anything looks weird on here, keep in mind that everything's being posted for the time being is being typed on my phone!**

**Also, additional students: Pinocchio and Mowgli for freshman, Eric for juniors! **

**Teachers will be revealed in due time! :) **


	3. TGIF

That Friday, there was an assembly that took up their whole first three periods. It was basically Principal Disney explaining all the school policies to the incoming freshman, and announcing things like pep rallies, musicals, clubs, electives and, of course, games. By the end of this, the entire student body was so riled up, lunch hour was a blessing.

Pheobus, Flynn, and Aladdin raced each other to the lunch line. Poor Pheobus came in last, and he knew the other two would snatch the good food before he could. Meg, Esmeralda and Mulan hung back at the tree and lounged there. They were soon joined by Kida, Pocahontas, and the others. Everyone except Meg, Esmeralda and Thomas were up in the tree in less than 10 seconds. Then the boys returned with their conquests. Pheobus had somehow managed to snag a pudding cup.

Esmeralda laughed at Pheobus's expression and Meg rolled her eyes at Esmeralda. Then Naveen strolled up to them, his dimples on full display.

"Hey, Esme."

"Oh, hey!" She jumped up and hugged him. "What's up?"

"Can I, uh...talk to you?"

"Of course." They shared a secret smile as they wandered off.

Meg rolled her eyes again, her gaze wandering lazily to Pheobus, who was trying not to look angry. Aladdin clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I don't see why you don't just ask her out, man."

"Because of..." he sighed and gestured up ahead, "...that."

They all followed his gaze to see Esmeralda playfully touching Naveen's arm and laughing while he smiled down at her.

Meg shook her head. "They're just friends with benefits. You know it means nothing to her. Sex never does."

"Exactly!" Pheobus ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "So who's to say it wouldn't be any different with me? I don't just want...that." He sighed.

Meg focused on her apple with a frown. This whole situation was exceedingly awkward and increasingly stupid. The whole reason behind Pheobus's frustration was that he'd basically been in love with Esmeralda since grade five. And he, Esmeralda and Naveen had been best friends since, like, birth. So, when Esmeralda and Naveen began their little "arrangement" in sophomore year, Pheobus and Naveen's friendship had been summarily ruined. And Esmeralda somehow remained clueless about the whole thing.

"I still think you should just talk to her." Meg stated plainly. "It's obvious that she likes you too."

"Well then why is she still sleeping with Naveen?" Pheobus frowned.

Meg raised a brow. "Do you not know her by now? I mean, look at her mom, Pheebs." Sadness tinted her tone.

"But her mom and your mom are almost exactly alike, and you're not just sleeping around." Flynn spoke quietly.

Meg shrugged. "Esmeralda and I are very different people."

No one got to extend that conversation because now Esmeralda and Naveen were coming back. Pheobus barely heard Esmeralda say something about seeing Naveen that night before his jaw locked and he tried to block out Naveen's reply in the affirmative. God, he'd like to punch that smile off Naveen's face...

Esmeralda was taking her seat as Naveen casually nodded to the rest of the group. They welcomed him except for Pheobus, Meg and Flynn. Then Naveen's gaze was set on Pheobus.

"Hey, Pheobus."

Pheobus looked up, and they just stared at each other. Meg and Flynn watched in anticipation, and now Pocahontas, John and Kida were interested as well. Pheobus was about to reply when Aladdin suddenly pointed toward the center of the quad. "Guys, look!"

Milo Thatch was being stopped by Gaston in the middle of the quad, where the whole school could see. When Gaston, who towered over poor Milo, knocked the books out of Milo's hands and then placed a foot on top of them to keep Milo from retrieving them, Flynn started cackling. Naveen glanced back at the group with wide eyes. "Shouldn't we help?"

"Well, yeah!" Aladdin had to yell over the crowd that was cheering now.

"On it." They all heard Kida say it, but when they looked toward her spot in the tree, she was already gone. They returned their gaze the crowd to see her slipping through the mass of bodies, unnoticed by any of the patrons.

Milo was in the middle of blocking the inevitable blow from Gaston's raised fist when the crowd grew quiet. He lowered his arms to see that the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen had thrown herself into the path of Gaston's hit. Gaston looked shocked and barely managed to stop his fist in time. He laughed nervously at this weird girl who was facing him fearlessly, her face bemused and her stance straight-on. She wasn't much shorter than the football player.

"You might wanna step aside...uh..." Gaston trailed off.

"Kidakakash." She said with a smirk.

He just stared at her. "Uh..."

She sighed. "Kida. My name is Kida."

"Oh. Pretty name." He smiled devilishly. At her lack of expression, he shook his head and stepped forward. "Step aside, will you?"

"Why? So you can torment this boy for no reason?"

Gaston rolled his eyes. "Not for no reason."

"Oh? Explain." Now she stepped forward, and crossed her arms.

Gaston almost retreated. To regain some confidence, he smiled around at the expecting crowd. "Well, look at him!"

She glanced back at Milo, who had been staring at her. His eyes snapped down to his shoes and he blushed. Gaston continued, "He's such a nerd!"

Kida glanced back at Gaston blankly before stepping toward Milo. _He looks so young... He can't be more than 16. _Kida thought. She smiled at him.

"You are alright?" She asked softly.

He nodded, avoiding her eyes. Her smile grew bigger. He was kind of adorable... "Have you done anything to deserve a beating?"

He glanced nervously at Gaston for about a second, then back down at his scuffed shoes. "No... I don't think so."

She watched him push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. She stepped closer to him. "How old are you, Milo?"

He looked surprised by her question. "Um... I'm sixteen."

She turned back to Gaston with satisfaction. "Can't even pick on someone your own age? He's not a freshman, you know."

"What are you talking about? He's a senior!" Gaston bellowed.

Kida turned a confused glance on Milo, who was looking down again.

"I skipped a few grade levels..." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Kida mulled this over for a few seconds, then turned back to Gaston. "So...this is about jealousy?"

Gaston sputtered. "What?!"

"Well, he should be a sophomore, but he's a senior. And you are supposed to be a senior, but instead you're in your third year as a sophomore..." Kida trailed off, trying to hide her smile.

Gaston shook his head and laughed ruefully. Then, he just stared her down menacingly. "Are you calling me dumb?"

She shrugged. "If I were you, I'd try to figure it out for myself. Also I would wonder how someone with my GPA could be allowed on the football team, especially since I can't even play. Also, I would keep in mind that smart people don't usually feel the need to hunt down and humiliate really smart kids just because they feel threatened."

Their audience laughed and slowly dispersed. Gaston stormed off, followed by three blond sophomore girls. Kida chuckled and turned to find Milo staring at her in amazement. Then he blushed and glanced down again. She held her hand out to him.

"I'm Kida."

He gently shook the offered hand. "Milo. Thanks for saving me."

She laughed. "No problem. Don't let any one get to you like that, okay?"

He gave her a small nod, looked at a spot on the pavement. She gave him an inquisitive look. "How come I've never aeen you before now?"

"I just transferred here." He mumbled.

"Ah. Well, are you eating with anyone?"

He shook his head sheepishly, blushing again. She smiled, which seemed to grab his attention. "Do you want to join me and my friends?"

His face seemed to light up. "Sure."

She giggled. "Great. Come with me."

"Tiiiaaaaaannnnaaaaaaaaa!" Charlotte moaned.

Tiana glanced tiredly up from her book. "Yes?"

"Help me decide what to wear!"

Tiana placed the book next to her on her best friend's very pink quilt. Charlotte was giving her puppy dog eyes from her seat in front of the vanity, a few feet from Tiana's perch on the bed. Tiana sighed. "Why don't you just wear what you did for school today?"

"Nooooo! Not for hanging out with my girls! I need to look extra pretty!" Charlotte pouted.

Tiana rolled her eyes, but couldn't hold back her smile. "Okay, Lottie."

Charlotte squealed and leapt up from her seat. She skipped over to her closet while Tiana walked over to meet her there. Tiana and Charlotte had been friends since childhood, so Tiana knew that the best way to keep Charlotte from throwing a tantrum was to just give her what she wanted. Right now Charlotte was excitedly searching through her shirts, pulling a few out and holding them up to her torso. She shook her head and tossed them over her shoulder. Tiana carefully retrieved them and lay them on the bed.

"Oooooooh, Tia! What about this one?"

Tiana glanced back at the shirt, which was obviously pink, and brand new. "I like it."

"I know! I just bought it last Friday!" Charlotte hurriedly changed from one pink blouse to the other. Then she moved on to bottoms. "Pants or a skirt?"

"Pants. It's unusually cold out tonight." Tiana stated as she hung up the shirts that Charlotte had cast aside. Charlotte handed her the outfit from before and Tiana tossed the blouse and skirt into the hamper by the closet. When she looked up, Charlotte had on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that were holding on for dear life. Tiana joined her friend at the opening of the walk in closet; the floor of the thing was completely covered by shoes, which Charlotte was inspecting.

"Heels?" Charlotte asked.

"Well, if we're just sitting in Aurora's room..."

Charlotte was already pulling her favorite pair of bright pink stillettos onto her feet. Then she moved over to her vanity and sat down to fix her hair and make up. Tiana retook her seat on the bed.

"Who all is gonna be there?" Tiana asked.

"Well, Aurora and Cindy, obviously. And their little freshman friend, Snow White. Also, Ariel and Jasmine."

"Jasmine?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"She doesn't like me, I think..."

Charlotte sighed. "Jasmine doesn't like a lot of people. Have you heard that girl's standards for dating? The guy has to be older than her, have perfect grades, play some kind of sport..."

"She's probably trying to protect herself from the idiots at our school." Tiana interjected. "She seems nice enough. She just doesn't seem to like me. I don't really fit in with your group, Lottie."

Charlotte whirled around in her chair. "Are you sure you can't sleep over at Rorie's with me tonight, Tia?" She pouted.

Tia laughed. "I told you I can't. I've got to be at the diner by 10 tonight. I got the graveyard shift."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror.

"So who else is coming?" Snow asked as she stretched out on Aurora's bed. Cindy was looking through the movies and Jasmine was searching on the laptop for local restaurants that would deliver. Aurora emerged from her adjoining bathroom in pink sweats and a blue tank top, fluffing up her blond curls with both hands.

"Uh... Ariel and Lottie. And Lottie's bringing Tiana."

"Ugh. Tiana's coming?" Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Why? Tiana's cool." Aurora did a quick make-up check in the little mirror hanging by her door.

"She's such a downer." Jasmine clicked furiously at the keyboard.

"Well, she's not sleeping over." Aurora stated.

"I thought Giselle was coming?" Cindy broke in.

Aurora laughed. "She backed out. She has, uh...plans with Edward."

Cindy rolled her eyes and laughed. Giselle was a sophomore, and her boyfriend, Edward, was a senior. They were a picture-perfect high school couple, both being beautiful and kind, but not too bright. Also, Giselle was a cheerleader and Edward was a football player. He was also on basketball, soccer, and baseball, but none of those got nearly as much attention as the football team.

At the mention of Giselle and Edward, a silent worry had permeated the room. The couple had been together for exactly a year now, but there still didn't seem to be any actual love there. Of course, this was high school and that was hard to find, but it had been a whole _year. _At this point, their relationship seemed to be just for show, and neither of them seemed to realize it. They were all anticipating the day when the couple broke up and it turned into _such _a big deal.

Jasmine spoke up suddenly. "Chinese or Indian? Ooh, or sushi?"

"Chinese." Everyone chimed simultaneously.

Jasmine huffed playfully and shook her head. "Cowards." She muttered. Cindy laughed.

Then Ariel came bursting in. "Hello, all!"

"Hey! There's our Little Mermaid!" Aurora laughed as she gave the redhead a hug. "How was the swim meet?"

"No actual swimming happened. But I think we're in good shape."

"Well, yeah. You still have two of your sisters on the team." Cindy pointed out.

Ariel nodded with a smile. "I know, right. We're gonna be in such bad shape when they're gone." She glanced around. "Where can I put my bag?"

"Right by the bed." Aurora said.

"Cool." Ariel dropped the bag, then seemed to see Snow White for the first time. She grinned and extended a hand. "You must be Snow White. Can I call you Snow?"

"Sure. Everyone does." Snow smiled back as she shook Ariel's hand.

"Snow went to Andalasia Junior High with me and Rorie." Cindy said.

"So I've heard. How's the academy treating you?" Ariel asked Snow.

"Well, I like it so far. It's way different than I expected."

"I bet. You were probably expecting some stuffy old school with uniforms and a serious academic reputation, huh?" Ariel said.

"Well, yeah. But it's so relaxed, and there's so much emphasis on sports and extra-curriculars and stuff. It's awesome." Snow smiled.

"Yeah. We're pretty well off." Aurora had disappeared back into her bathroom. "I can't remember the last time I had homework."

"And the campus is huge for such a small amount of students." Jasmine added distractedly.

"It's because the other schools visit so much." Cindy replied. She turned to Snow. "A lot of the other schools aren't as well funded. Things break down a lot, so they come to our campus temporarily."

"Oh, that's cool. It's not an inconveniance at all?"

"Nah." Ariel shook her head. "They get their own section of the campus, so we hardly ever see them. They're pretty cool, actually. Definitely good competitors."

"But!" Aurora sprang back into the room. "We are undefeated! Do not let our name fool you! We Disney Mice are a fierce and unrelenting people!" Her dramatic speech drew laughter from the others.

"Okay, guys." Jasmine turned to them. "Come look at this menu, will you?"

"Was that good?" Esmeralda called toward Naveen, who was preparing a shower in the bathroom adjoined to his bedroom.

"Wonderful, as always." He leaned in the doorway, completely naked. "Wanna join me?" He winked.

"Nah, I'm good. I barely worked up a sweat." She bragged playfully, returning his wink.

He laughed, exposing his dimples. He turned and went to the shower, leaving the door wide open.

Esmeralda chuckled to herself and relaxed on Naveen's bed, enjoying the feeling of the silk on her skin. She pushed a strand of hair off her face and reached for her phone, which had been sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. She replied to a couple of texts from Meg and her mother, then saw that she had a text from Jasmine.

She frowned. She and Jasmine hadn't talked in a while. They'd been best friends through elementary school and junior high, but since Esmeralda was a year older, she went on to high school a year earlier than Jasmine and they talked a lot less. By the time Jasmine came into high school, Esmeralda had a completely new group of friends and the two girls ended up travelling in different social circles. The pair of them had really changed over the years and almost never talked.

She opened the text and read it with furrowed brows.

_Hey :)_

Esmeralda figured that Jasmine must have wanted something. She sighed, deciding to respond.

_Hey Jazz. What's up?_

_Sleepover with my buddies. How are you doing? _

_Good. You?_

_Same old, same old._

Esmeralda rolled her eyes. Jasmine made it sound like her life was boring or lame in some way. _It definitely is not, _Esmeralda thought.

Then she heard the shower stop and turned her phone off before placing it back on the nightstand. Naveen wandered back in, a towel wrapped around his slim hips. Esmeralda had to bite her lip to keep from saying anything. It wasn't that she considered Naveen as anything more than a friend, but she did catch herself under his spell at times. He was definitely romantic, as well as being gorgeous and a huge flirt. But he was also self-interested and, at times, an idiot. She'd known him long enough to know that he was inconsiderate, irresponsible and unfaithful; definitely not boyfriend material. But he was one hell of a lover.

"You aren't dressed." He was surprised. Usually she was getting ready to leave by now.

She gave him a cheeky grin. "I thought maybe you could make me dinner?"

He laughed. "Sure thing, beautiful. Let me go see what I have to work with." He headed downstairs.

Esmeralda dawdled over getting dressed and cleaning up. She didn't notice her phone buzzing as she fixed her hair.

"You dudes sure you don't want some." Eric offered his blunt for the third time.

Charles and Ferdinand shook their heads, Ferdinand making a face. Phillip shrugged.

"What the hell. Sure." He snagged the blunt and took a long drag. As he exhaled, he gave Eric an inquisitive look. "Hey, this smell will be gone soon right?"

"What time does your dad get home?" Eric asked.

"Like, two in the morning." Phillip's dad were pretty huge movie producer; he was gone a lot. Right now the four guys were sitting on the living room floor. Ferdinand and Charles were looking for a movie to watch.

Eric thought on it, then nodded. "Yeah, it'll be gone by then."

"Okay, cool."

Charles shook his head and coughed. "How can you stand the smell?"

Eric shrugged. "I dunno, bro. You get used to it."

Ferdinand laughed. "I bet."

Phillip took a couple more drags before returning the blunt to Eric. Charles was zoning out, and Ferdinand laughed again.

"Contact high, Charlie?"

"Huh? Oh, no... Just thinking."

"About Cindy?" Phillip asked sympathetically.

Charles sighed. "Yeah." He looked very tired and sad all of a sudden.

Eric shook his head. "Just get back with her, man."

"I can't. Not until we're sure her step-family isn't gonna be a problem."

"Who cares about them?" Phillip said. "Those girls are just gonna move on any way. They know you'll never get with either of them." Usually Phillip's voice was low and calm, but the mixture of the pot and his anger made his words grow in volume.

"Exactly. They think that if they can't have me, Cindy definitely can't." Charles rubbed a hand over his face.

"Don't worry, cousin." Ferdinand clapped a hand on Charles's shoulder. "She's a loyal girl. She'll wait for you."

Charles almost smiled. "Yeah, I know." Then his jaw locked and his expression was hard. "But I don't want her to. We should be together _now._"

Phillip clapped suddenly. "I have an idea. I'll throw a party here, tomorrow night. My dad has some dinner to go to, and he'll be gone all night. I'll make sure Anastasia and Drizzella have no clue about it, and you and Cindy can have plenty of time together."

"A party? Tomorrow night?" Eric was skeptical.

"Kinda last minute..." Ferdinand added.

"I'll say it's to celebrate surviving the first week of school. First big party of the year; everyone'll go for it." Phillip said, accepting the blunt from Eric again.

"It does sound like a good idea..." Charles spoke up. "Better than anything I've thought of."

"I'll start texting everyone. Cindy's sleeping over at Aurora's, so I'll just text her right now." Phillip returned the blunt after one last inhale and whipped out his smartphone.

Eric laughed as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "This'll be great. Hey, what time is Naveen getting here?"

"Probably in the next hour. He's got some girl at his place." Ferdinand said.

"I'll let him know about the party now, then. Before I forget..." Phillip's sentence died off and his eyes grew wide. "Whoa... My keyboard looks fuckin' _weird..._"

Mulan had been texting Meg when she fell asleep. Her mom wandered in through the open door and smiled at her daughter sleeping in the chair on the opposite side of the room. She grabbed a quilt from the hall closet and covered Mulan with it. She pushed a strand of hair off Mulan's face and smiled. Then she saw a flyer on the table next to her. She picked it up and frowned. It was a flyer for boys' football try-outs. She glanced back at her daughter and sighed, setting the paper back on the table.

At first, she was worried. But then she remembered the numerous times she'd seen Mulan hurt in a game, and how quickly her daughter had come back from it. Mulan played almost every sport available to her, and she was excellent at them. She was a tough girl.

She cast her nervousness aside and decided to trust in her daughter's abilities. She also knew that she would be fully supportive of her little princess.

Aurora felt her phone buzz and immediately checked her messages. When she squealed, everyone turned toward her.

"Phillip texted me!"

Cindy smiled and the others laughed. Tiana tried not to roll her eyes. Charlotte squeaked and leapt onto the bed with Aurora and Cindy.

"What did he say?" Charlotte demanded.

Aurora squinted at the tiny print. Then she grinned and bounced on the mattress. "He's throwing a party tomorrow night!"

Charlotte shrieked and jumped around. The other girls other than Tiana immediately crowded onto the bed.

"Who's gonna be there?" Ariel asked.

"Says that everyone is invited except for a couple of..." Aurora stopped and glanced at Cindy. Charlotte had been reading over her shoulder and now gasped.

"What is it?" Cindy asked.

"It says that Anastasia and Drizzella are not allowed to even be told about the party." Charlotte said.

Cindy felt her eyes widen in realization. "Oh, my God..."

Aurora grinned. "They're trying to bring you and Charming back together!"

"Aww!" Ariel and Jasmine both sang.

Snow wrapped an arm around Cindy. "Will you be able to go?"

"I doubt it. If Anastasia and Drizzella aren't going..."

Tiana cleared her throat as she stood and retrieved her bag. "I gotta go, guys. Thanks for having me."

"I'll text you tomorrow, Tia!" Charlotte waved good bye.

Tiana left as the others murmured good byes. Then they all turned back to the matter at hand.

"I don't think I can go... My step mom will probably have company during the day, and Saturday nights are important for keeping the place clean..." Cindy bit her lip.

Aurora rolled her eyes. Then, a mischievous look crossed her features. "You know...they don't have to know you're gone."

"What?"

"Well, your room is in the attic, right?" Aurora hadn't been inside Cindy's house since her dad's funeral, but she remembered hearing about it.

"Yeah..."

"Well, the window's big enough to pull yourself through... And there's that big tree right there. It would be an easy climb..."

Cindy shook her head. "I dunno about that..."

"Come on! I could pick you up in my car, text you when I get there, and you can climb down and we'll leave!" Aurora explained.

"You kinda have to go..." Jasmine said.

"Yeah. You're the reason why this party's happening." Ariel added.

"Charming must be pretty miserable without you..." Snow chimed.

Cindy bit her lip. They all waited for her to say something. Finally, she asked, "What time does the party start?"

"Ten."

"We can't get there till, like, 12."

"Fine by me." Aurora was already typing furiously fast. The other girls cheered and bounced around and clapped. Cindy shook her head and laughed, but inside, her heart was racing and her mind reeled with excitement and anxiety.

Naveen was checking his messages while Esmeralda washed her dishes. He looked up at her. "Wanna go to a party tomorrow night?"

"What?" She frowned as she dried her hands.

"Phillip's throwing a party tomorrow at his place. Wanna go?"

"Uh... I doubt I can. I've got, uh...work tomorrow night."

"You have a job?"

She laughed. "Yeah."

"Where?"

"What time is the party?"

"Uh...ten."

She shook her head. "And what time does it end?"

"Says people have to be gone before four a.m."

She moved to the front door and picked up her purse. "I'll try to make it by two."

"Can you get a ride?"

"Probably from Meg or Pheobus. Otherwise, I'll just call you." She smiled at him. "Speaking of which, you driving me home?"

He smiled back, grabbing the keys. "Of course. Will your mom be mad? It's kind of late."

"She won't care." Her mom probably wasn't even home.

They talked about things like school and friends on the way home, laughing at each other's little anecdotes about exes and evil teachers and various dramas. As they pulled up to her house, Naveen noticed no car in the driveway, and all the lights were out.

"Are you gonna be able to get in?" He asked, trying not to seem too concerned.

"Yeah. There's a busted window in the back." She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned toward him with a smirk. "Thanks for dinner."

He grinned. "Thanks for the sex."

They reached over and hugged each other. He pressed a soft kiss into her hair. As she pulled away, she felt his arms tighten around her. She looked up at him questioningly, and froze when she saw his lips hovering over hers. They stared at each other for a long time. It was when he started rubbing his thumb back and forth on her shoulder that she was snapped back to reality.

She smiled and pulled away fully. This time he let her. "Bye, Naveen."

"Bye."

She hurried out of the car and up the driveway. He watched her disappear around the back before he started driving to Phillip's house.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE! **

**Thinking of incorporating singing into this fic, cuz you know, is Diznee.**

**Also, the person who can tell me the names of all of Ariel's sisters in order of age will recieve a virtual cookie.**

**Repunzal and Quadimido will be coming soon; probably around chapter 4 or 5...**

**Also, gonna start focusing on the students' home lives!**


	4. Get The Party Started

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'me comin' out, so you better get the party started!" Charlotte trilled as she danced around Aurora's room. Aurora and Snow laughed as the crazy blond jumped around and tried to imitate P!nk's pouty face (it came off as more of a grimace), continuing the song. "I'm comin' out, you better-!"

Jasmine crossed her arms. "I thought you didn't like P!nk?"

"Ugh, I know... But some of her older stuff is growing on me. I mean, I can't really relate to her pain or anything, but you know...it's deep." Then Charlotte disappeared into the bathroom, which echoed her already bad singing in an even more unflattering way. "Get the party started on a Saturday night..."

As she continued to sing, all the girls shared a look and tried to stifle a laugh. Ariel couldn't control her giggle. Someone really had to tell Charlotte how bad she was. Everyone knew it wouldn't keep her from auditioning for the musical, like every year.

"Lottie, do you have to get ready now? The party doesn't start for another eight hours." Aurora called after her tone-deaf friend.

Charlotte poked her head out of the door. "I'm just so excited! Couldn't we girls go out to the mall or something? Get lunch, maybe some party outfits?"

Aurora shrugged. "I could certainly ask dad. Does everyone have spending money?"

When all of the girls nodded, Aurora hopped off the bed and skipped out to the living room. Ariel strolled over to the bathroom door. Charlotte was fussing over her make up.

"Lottie? You planning on doing the musical this year?"

"Of course! Chorus needs some stronger voices."

Ariel couldn't keep the surprised look off her face. "You don't want a lead?"

"Nah. I've never gotten one before; doubt this year will be any different. Some people just aren't meant for the spotlight, I guess..." Lottie sighed.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Says co-captain of the cheer squad."

Lottie giggled. "I know! I've already got a routine thought up! I was gonna bring it up to Rorie- Oh! There she is!"

Aurora had just returned and now had her eyes fixed on Charlotte in mock suspicion. "What is it?"

"I was just telling the girls about this routine I thought up."

"For cheer?" Aurora's voice was muffled as she changed her shirt.

"Yeah!"

Aurora pulled on a pink v-neck and sighed. "Let's talk about it later. I don't want to think about any kind of work right now."

"Kaykay, Rorie." Charlotte came from the bathroom with one of Aurora's t-shirts. It was black with a purple dragon insignia on the front. "Can I borrow it?"

Aurora flushed at the sight of the shirt and snatched it. "No. Uh..." She traded it out with another tee, which was bright pink with an owl on it. "Take that one."

"Ooh, yay!" Charlotte didn't even seemed fazed by Aurora's weird behavior.

The other girls studied her though. And she felt their eyes on her, and they knew this because she was focusing on her shoes as she headed to the bathroom to change into some jeans. Jasmine was the first to speak up.

"Where's that shirt from, Rorie?"

Aurora rolled her eyes silently. Jasmine was so nosy.

"Yeah, I've never seen it before..." Ariel added.

_Great. _Aurora sighed before exiting the bathroom in a pair of faded blue skinny jeans. "It's old; it was a gift."

Jasmine raised one elegant eyebrow. "Looks a bit big for you..."

Everyone waited for a reply. Aurora just looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, she said, "Uh...my dad picked it up from some shop, on a business trip. I use it for pajamas."

The others didn't look convinced, but they dropped it. Aurora hid her relief by looking for the car keys in her purse. As the other girls started getting ready for the day, Aurora silently wished Cindy hadn't left so early that morning. Cindy would've sensed trouble and diverted everyone's attention. Now they were all suspicious.

_They can never know. I'm in too deep... _The thought was painfull in her head. She'd regretted the whole thing; she'd managed to keep it hidden for almost a _year _now. Not even Cindy knew about it. Aurora knew that if any of her friends found out, they'd never look at her the same way again...

"Rorie?" Snow tapped her shoulder. "Ready?"

Aurora gazed at Snow White as if she didn't recognize her. Then, she smiled in a way that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Of course. Let's go!" Aurora started to lead the girls downstairs to the garage, and tried to join in on the excitement of Charlotte, who was babbling in her ear.

Meanwhile, Pocahontas was sitting in her room with Kida and Nakoma. She looked up from her phone and spoke. "John just texted me about a party at Phillip's tonight. You guys wanna go?"

"Oh, yeah! Thomas sent me something about that last night. I'm down." Nakoma replied.

Kida bit her lip. "Do you think Milo would go?"

Pocahontas laughed. "I doubt it. Parties don't really seem like his thing."

Nakoma cast a doubtfull look on Kida. "Do you really like him?"

"I don't know!" Kida covered her face with both of her hands. "I've never felt like this before! You guys know me, I never even look at guys. But something about Milo is so... He's just very sweet and...adorable."

"But he's younger." Nakoma pulled a face.

Pocahontas rolled her eyes. Nakoma had done this same thing when Pocahontas had started dating John. In fact, almost everyone she knew had. She knew how it felt to have everyone judge who you loved. "But he's graduating with us, so age isn't a problem." Pocahontas pointed out.

"Yeah. He's so smart..." Kida sighed.

Nakoma shrugged and fidgeted with her crop top, acting as if her exposed stomach was worrisome. Pocahontas rolled her eyes again and turned to Kida.

"You can certainly ask him. It's open invite."

Kida grinned and reached for her phone. As she typed rapidly, Pocahontas felt her phone start buzzing and looked at it. Mulan was calling her. She smiled and picked it up.

"Hey, Mu. You going tonight?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yup. Are you coming over here or what?"

"On my way now. But my gramma's driving so, I might die before I get to you..." There was a weird murmuring and Mulan sighed. "Of course I believe in the lucky cricket, gram..."

Pocahontas chuckled. "See you soon."

"Maybe." Mulan replied morbidly.

About two hours later, Pheobus and Aladdin were bugging Flynn while they strolled through town.

"When are you gonna give in and join track?" Pheobus asked.

"We could really use you, man!" Aladdin joined in. "You're the fastest guy we know."

"Guys, organized sports aren't really my thing. Hell, I don't like anything that's organized. Why would I want to join in when I can just lay low?" He snagged an apple from a fruit cart as they passed it. Pheobus rolled his eyes and Aladdin chuckled as they slipped away.

They turned down an alley and kept walking until they came to a dumpster. Above the dumpster was a small window that was half-shaded. Aladdin hopped up onto the dumpster and glanced at the old, rusted fire escape. He grinned down at the two others before leaping up to grip the bottom of the destroyed ladder. It shook violently with his weight.

"Be careful!" Pheobus hissed.

Aladdin shot him a reassuring grin as he pulled himself up. (The fire escape was so rusted that the ladder never opened any more. The thing didn't get a lot of use any way; half of it was missing.) He scurried up the rest of the structure till he was level with the window. Then he leaned over so that his torso was off of the fire escape and started trying to push the window open. Pheobus felt anxiety creep into his chest as half of Aladdin's body hung in the air.

Eventually, (mercifully), the window popped open. Aladdin carefully pulled himself up onto the sill. From his seat there, he sent them a thumbs-up. Flynn laughed as he and Pheobus went to the front door of the complex and entered.

"What's so funny?" Pheobus asked.

"Your face..." Flynn giggled.

Pheobus shook his head and smirked as they headed up the dimly lit stairs. Everything in this place was dimly lit, and very old. Pheobus didn't want to know what stories the 70's carpet could tell.

They reached the door to Aladdin's apartment and performed their secret knock. Aladdin laughed as he let them in. He locked the door after them and they all headed to the kitchen. Flynn already had the Oreos out. Pheobus and Aladdin went for the first bag of chips he could find.

"Your dad's not home?" Flynn asked Aladdin.

"Nah. He's not gonna be till, like..." Aladdin thought about it. "Wednesday? Yeah, Wednesday."

"Ah."

Pheobus took a seat on the couch, which was pulled out into a bed. Aladdin and his dad had a studio apartment, meaning that it was basically one room. The wall opened up to reveal a cramped bathroom. It was kind of big for a studio apartment, but that was only because of when this side of the apartment complex burned down, renovations were made. So the kitchen was added.

Aladdin turned on the radio before joining Flynn and Pheobus on the couch. Pheobus was laughing and tossing chips at Flynn. Flynn acted wounded by this before returning fire dramatically with an Oreo.

"Hey, did John text you guys last night about Phillip's party?" Pheobus asked.

Aladdin shook his head. "Eric did, though."

"Same here." Flynn added.

"Well, are we going?"

Aladdin shrugged and nodded. "Sure."

"I don't see why not." Flynn said.

"Cool. I'll text Esmeralda..."

"She already knows."

Pheobus looked at Aladdin in confusion. "She does?"

"Yeah. I texted her last night to let her know, and she said one of the guys already told her."

"One of the guys...?"

"It doesn't matter any way." Flynn cut in. "She has work tonight, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Pheobus stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "Well, what time do you guys wanna go?"

"Let's head out at ten, I guess." Aladdin said after a moment.

"Cool." Pheobus replied, distracted by the radio.

"Cool..." Flynn echoed, stuffing another cookie into his mouth.

At this moment, Aurora was looking at Jasmine disapprovingly. Jasmine had picked another midriff, but this one was a deep purple color, and had off-the shoulder straps. She also picked out some skinny jeans of the same color. Jasmine put her hands on her hips and returned Aurora's look.

"What?" Jasmine asked with mock sass.

Aurora made a big show of rolling her eyes, then turned to Ariel. The redhead had found some jeans in the boys section, so they fit loosely but were still flattering. They were tye-dyed with blues and greens and had big rips all around. She'd also found a purple sweatshirt from the boys side, which looked cozy and, frankly adorable on her. The only thing she'd grabbed from the girl's sections was a purple tank top and some matching flip-flops. She was examining a green-blue beanie with black stripes.

Aurora's gaze wandered to Charlotte, who had seemed to find something outlandish and pink enough to suit her needs. She was looking into another pair of pink heels.

Snow had decided on a bright yellow tank top, which had been tucked into a dark blue high-low skirt. She's also found some yellow patent-leather flats. Aurora laughed as Snow twirled around in front of a mirror before looking at necklaces. She watched Snow pick up a necklace with a bright red pendant shaped like an apple hanging from it.

"It's cute." Aurora spoke up.

Snow sighed. "The irony..."

Aurora herself had picked out a nice blue dress, which was off the shoulder with sleeves reaching her elbows. The pleated skirt brushed against her knees. She'd also found some nice blue pumps.

Jasmine slipped on her same shimmery gold flats from before. She didn't seem interested in accessories today. Then again, Aurora couldn't remember a time when Jasmine wasn't wearing her gold earings and matching bracelets.

Charlotte squealed. "You guys look so beautiful! Who are we all trying to impress tonight?"

Jasmine laughed. "No one."

"Well..." Ariel trailed off guiltily.

Everyone stared at her.

"Okay!" She burst out. "Eric. It's Eric."

"That explains the outfit." Aurora smirked.

Ariel looked down at herself, her head hidden by the beanie. "Yeah... I actually do like the clothes, though..."

Aurora's gaze travelled to Snow, whose eyes were downcast. "What about you, Snow?"

Snow looked up, trying not to smile. "Well...there is one boy..."

"Ferdinand." Aurora stated plainly.

"Is it that obvious?" Snow looked scared. "Do you think he noticed?"

"I'm sure he did. But I'm also sure he likes you too, so you're fine." Aurora smirked.

Snow beamed. "Really? But he's so much older..."

"He's only a junior. He's also a very sweet, hopeless romantic. Don't be intimidated. Take tonight as a chance to get close to him."

Snow smiled.

"And what about you, Rorie?" Charlotte grinned. "Is tonight the night to get close to Phillip?"

"Oooooooh...!" Everyone squealed.

Aurora shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. I don't really know him that well..."

"Oh, please!" Charlotte scoffed.

"It's true!" Aurora laughed. "He does seem sweet, though..."

"He is, Rorie. I've known him since kindergarten." Jasmine spoke up.

"And Eric always tells me how fun he is! And how caring and devoted he is..." Ariel sighed. "Just like Eric..."

Aurora rolled her eyes before her mind travelled. She liked Phillip. She really did. And she actually did know him pretty well. Then again, she'd thought that before about another boy... She shook her head. Half of her thought, _Just forget it! It doesn't matter now! _But the other half would never let her forget...

So yeah, she liked Phillip. But not enough to risk another heartbreak. Not until she was absolutely sure that he was different. And if he'd moved on by then, so be it.

That last thought made her stomach clench and her jaw set. It was a painful thought, but it was true... Wasn't it?

"Let's grab dinner before we head back to your place, Rorie." Charlotte brought her out of her reverie.

Aurora nodded. "Let's go to one of the restaurants, though. I don't want any more crap from the food court."

They bought their clothes and wore them out of the store. They hurried out to Aurora's car and she drove them through town.

"There's Hatter 'n' Hare's... They have good tea." Jasmine pointed to the little cafe.

"Nah. Too hectic and...crazy." Ariel replied.

"Besides, they only serve things like little sandwiches." Charlotte added.

"There's DeVille's..." Snow chimed.

"No. It's all nasty diet food in tiny portions for insane prices. It's run by the same horrible woman who founded the salon, clothing boutique and modeling agency by the same name." Aurora tried to stop her ramble.

An unsettling quiet made the air heavy. Aurora sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like what places like that do to girls our age."

"It's okay." Snow chirped.

"There's Shan Yu's... I like Mongolian." Ariel offered up.

"Uh-uh. Have you heard about what he does to the animals before he kills them?" Snow shuddered.

"Well, there's Mushu's..." Charlotte started.

"We ordered from there last night." Jasmine cut her off. When everyone groaned, she added, "Hey, we could've gotten sushi. But noooooo."

Aurora laughed. Suddenly, Charlotte bounced forward. "We could go to where Tia works! It's a diner, they have all kinds if stuff! Also, I wanna try to convince her to come to the party."

"Any objections?" When everyone shook their heads, Aurora went in the direction of the restaurant. She looked at Charlotte in the rearview mirror. "Can Tiana drive herself, Lottie? 'Cause the car's already packed and we still have to pick up Giselle."

"Yeah, I think she can."

"I thought Edward was driving Giselle?" Jasmine asked.

Aurora shook her head. "He's helping the guys with set-up."

Naveen was trying not to drop the crate of beer as he traversed his way across the living room floor, which was littered with DVDs. He managed to make it to the kitchen with no trouble and carefully dropped the crate onto the counter. He opened it up and started to pile the bottles into the cooler next to him. Then he buried them in ice. Hercules rushed past him, his arms loaded with boxes of soda and bags of chips. While he was handling that, Charming was bustling around picking up trash and clearing away boxes.

When Charming moved to the living room to put away the forgotten DVDs, he glanced over at Edward and Phillip, who were handling decorations. Edward was up on a ladder papering the walls while Phillip put in colored lightbulbs and adjusted the intensity of the lights.

"How's it going up there?" Charming grinned.

"Great! This is gonna look awesome!" Phillip returned the grin.

Eric came rushing in from the backyard. "Pool and patio are all set up. Herc, we need snacks out on the patio tables." As Hercules hurried outside, Eric turned his attention to Charming. "Your cousin is really brilliant with the tech stuff."

"Yeah? Ferdinand's always been good with wires and things. Did he set up the audio to reach through the whole house?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna head back out and help him with tonight's playlist. The dude knows great music, too." Eric strolled back out just as Hercules sped his way back in and through to the kitchen.

Phillip looked up from his phone, which he'd been checking. "Rorie says the girls just left dinner. They'rd going back to her place to do hair and make up."

"Cool. What time is it?"

"9...0...7." Phillip dragged it out as he fiddled with a lightbulb.

Charming sighed as he started hooking up the Kinect. (He figured it would be fun for a party.) "Awesome." The evening hadn't even begun and he was already exhausted.

Aurora groaned at the sight of herself in the mirror. Snow, who was sharing the mirror with her, glanced at her through the glass while she curled her eyelashes.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't think this lipstick's working for me..."

"What do you mean? It's pink. You always wear pink." Ariel was standing behind them and running a brush through her thick waves of hair.

"I know... So boring."

Snow smirked at the gleam in Aurora's eyes. "Maybe a red would work better?"

"You think?"

"Here. I picked this out for you today. As a surprise." Snow pulled an elegant little black tube from her purse and held it out to Aurora.

Aurora took it gently, and stared at it. Then she looked doubtfully at Snow.

Snow laughed. "It'll be perfect. Clean your lips up and I'll show you a technique to help it last all night."

Aurora squeaked and excitedly scrubbed her lips clean. Jasmine and Ariel kept messing with their hair and applying lip gloss. Charlotte was in the bathroom doing God-knows-what. Snow was finishing with her mascara. After helping Aurora with her lipstick, she quickly did her own.

Aurora stared at herself for a moment. It was a daring shade of red- eye-catching, but modest. It was beautiful with her skin tone, and worked well with her simple eye make up (light liner and mascara). Next to her, Snow squealed excitedly.

"You look like Marylin Monroe..." Snow chirped as she fidgeted with her hair ribbon.

A smile teased Aurora's ruby lips. She totally did.

"Charlotte! It's 9:45! We have to pick up Giselle!" Ariel called to the bathroom door.

As if on cue, Charlotte came bursting out, face painted and hair stacked on top of her head. Everyone clapped daintily in response.

Charlotte curtsied. "Why, thank you."

"Can we head out?" Ariel asked as she pulled her beanie over her head.

"Sure." Aurora snatched the keys out of her purse, handing her phone to the redhead. Ariel had pockets and she didn't.

Ariel stashed both of their phones as the group headed downstairs. As they pulled out of the driveway, Charlotte stood up through the sun roof and threw up her arms with a scream.

"FIRST PARTY OF THE YEAR! WHOOOOOOOOO!"

Charlotte continued this for a little too long, and Aurora had to tug on her skirt to let her know to get down. After Charlotte was seated and the sun roof was closed, Aurora turned around and said, "Which we won't get to if we're dead."

For whatever reason, all of them fell into a fit of uncontrollable giggling.

They arrived to Giselle's house and pulled up the driveway. Aurora honked twice, giving Giselle the signal. The auburn-haired girl came skipping down the driveway and climbed into the car. After some readjustments, Aurora drove off to Phillip's. She tried to focus on driving while everyone around her shrieked and giggled. Someone kept kicking her seat.

She tried not to sigh out loud when they reached Phillip's driveway. She headed down the long stretch of cobblestones and stopped in the court. The guys all had their cars parked in a line near the ornate fountain. She pulled up to continue the line.

Charlotte clapped. "I'd almost forgotten how amazing this place is!"

"Wow..." Snow kept mumbling.

"I know. We haven't been here since his party at the end of last year!" Ariel felt ashamed.

Aurora had to keep her eyebrow from twitching. She parked robotically and pulled the key out of the ignition. She smiled at the others as she unbuckled her seat belt. They were all quickly doing the same.

"Let's go."

They all clambored out of the car. A couple of the girls were tripping over themselves and Snow all but fell. They all screeched with laughter as they approached the front door, which was grand and intricate like everything else surrounding them. The door opened just as Aurora was trying to shush the others while also struggling to stifle her own laughter. She looked up and was greeted by Phillip's smile.

"Hey Rorie..."

"Hey..." She couldn't keep the big, dumb smile off her face.

They smiled at each other for a while. Charlotte cleared her throat behind Aurora.

"Oh! Hey guys!" He looked back at the others. "Come on in! You're the first ones here."

"Snacks are in here!" Hercules called from the kitchen, which is where the girls gravitated to.

Phillip shut the door and followed them. Hercules was showing them the tables full of various snack foods. Charlotte clapped.

"Ooh, Herc! It all looks great!"

"Yeah? I've been organizing for the last, like, hour..."

"And re-organizing, and re-re-organizing..." Phillip added as he appeared behind Aurora. Everyone laughed. "But, seriously, dude. It looks great. Quit stressing."

"Heh...okay."

"Is Eric around?" Ariel asked.

"He's outside with Ferdinand." Phillip replied.

"Great!" Ariel chirped, grabbing Snow's hand and dragging her out back.

Aurora rolled her eyes. She heard Phillip chuckle and realized he was next to her now. She turned to share a smile with him.

"Oh! Herc, your muscles are so huge!" Charlotte trilled as she gripped at one of his biceps.

He tried to hide his discomfort by laughing. "Thanks, Lottie... You know, Charlie might need help with set-up... I'm gonna go check." He slipped out of the room.

Charlotte watched him go and sighed. Aurora took a step toward her friend.

"Since when are you into Hercules?"

"I'm not really. I'm just wanting to have a little fun tonight... And he's nice and I trust him, so..." Charlotte shrugged mildly.

Aurora shook her head, but couldn't contain her smirk. Charlotte was definitely not a relationship person. She turned toward the living room to see Phillip, Hercules and Charming fussing around with some cables to start the music up. Edward and Giselle were seated on the couch, snuggling. Jasmine had disappeared to the backyard. Charlotte brushed past Aurora and joined the lovebirds on the couch to laugh at the boys. Charming looked up at Phillip.

"Where's Naveen?"

"I think he's outside..."

"I thought he was ordering the pizzas?"

"He is."

"Why did he go outside to-?"

An explosion of rock music shook the foundation and sent everyone either jumping up in the air or curling up close to the floor. They all clapped their hands over their ears except for Ferdinand, who had just rushed inside and was now adjusting the volume. When the magnitude was bearable, they all settled down, but their bodies were too rigid to fully relax. Ferdinand glanced around apologetically.

"Sorry about that. I didn't realize how loud it would be..."

Phillip laughed. "It's okay, Ferdinand. You just gave us a good scare."

Charming sighed at his cousin, but eventually joined Phillip in the laughs. Everyone who had been outside was now gathered in the living room, and eventually the whole room erupted with laughter. Ferdinand smiled greatfully at it.

It was 10:39 when Pocahontas was rushed out to her car by Nakoma and Kida. Mulan was already standing next to the vehicle. While the other three climbed in, Pocahontas whirled around and called to her father, who was sitting on the porch with someone.

"What time should I be home, dad?"

"About 1, I suppose."

"Really?"

"Sure! It's a Saturday!"

"Thank you, dad!" She skipped over to the car and hopped into the driver's seat. As she shut the door, Nakoma leaned forward from the back.

"Who's that guy with your dad?"

"Some intern for the company."

"He's handsome." Nakoma winked.

Pocahontas rolled her eyes. "He's also a complete downer. And a suit."

Nakoma and Kida laughed as they got buckled up. Pocahontas sent her dad a quick wave before pulling out of the slim driveway and taking off.

"We have to pick up John and Thomas. Kida, are we picking Milo up, too?"

"Yes, please."

"Got it. You got his address?"

After picking up John and Thomas at John's house, Kida directed Pocahontas to Milo's. When they found their way to the simple apartment complex, Kida texted Milo to let him know they were there. After a few moments, he came rushing out. Kida opened the door for him and he squeezed in with her, Nakoma and Thomas. John laughed from his spot in the front passenger seat.

"We ready to go?" Pocahontas asked.

"Yeah!" Everyone chimed.

As she drove off, John reached over and gripped her hand, which was resting on the clutch. She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. When she looked toward him, she saw that he was staring at her and felt her face flush. John always stared at her, even if she was dressed casually like right now. She'd decided on a loose pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with her moccasins and a pale brown scarf. Her hair was loosely braided and draped over her shoulder. She hadn't even bothered with make up tonight.

She tried to focus on the road, but feeling his eyes roam over her, coupled with the butterflies in her stomach and the chattering in the back seat, was distracting. She felt someone tap her shoulder and turned her head vaguely to signal that she was listening.

"What was the name of the guy at your house?" Nakoma asked.

"Um... Kocoum? I think."

"There's a guy at your house?" John demanded, withdrawing his hand.

"He was having a meeting or something with my dad. He's an intern."

John nodded, but didn't reach for her again. She tried not to roll her eyes. John could get so jealous.

"So, Milo, I didn't know you lived downtown." Thomas said.

"Yeah. I live with my grandpa."

"Not with your parents?" Nakoma asked. Then she caught Kida's murderous glare. "What?"

Milo softly chuckled. "It's okay, Kida." He looked at Nakoma. "My parents died when I was really little."

"Oh."

"Yeah... I don't really remember them."

A heavy silence settled in the car. Pocahontas slowly reached over and turned the radio on. They would still be driving for another ten minutes...

Meg was also driving.

"Pheobus, I'm on my way right now!"

"Oh shit, are you driving?!"

"Yes! I have the phone on speaker."

"Oh, okay. How far are you?"

"I'll be there in five minutes!" She hit the "End" button and sighed. She was speeding her way down the back roads, turning dangerously in her beat-up old Chevy. When her phone started ringing again, she groaned and all but smashed the "Pick Up" button.

"What?"

"Hello to you too!" Esmeralda cheered.

"Aren't you at work?"

"I'm on a break. I get back to it in 20 minutes."

"What time do you get off?"

"One."

"So I'll come get you around...?"

"1:30."

"Alright. See you then."

"Wait!"

"What?!"

"You can't talk to me for a bit?"

"Esme, I'm driving!"

"Oh, shit. Sorry! I'll leave you alone. See you!"

Meg hung up quickly and rolled her eyes. All of her friends were crazy.

Pheobus, along with Flynn, John, Aladdin, and Edward, was enjoying himself a little too much on the Kinect playing Dance Riot. The five of them were doing a good job at destroying the synchronization to "We Are Family". Everyone had gathered in the living room to watch and laugh. Ferdinand had even stopped the music temporarily in honor of the sight. Right now he and Snow were chatting. Snow's giggles were a good indication that the conversation was going well, and Aurora grinned at this.

Aurora kept catching Phillip staring at her, and she couldn't help but smile at him. He was so cute, and sweet...and honest... _No. _Aurora shook her head. Don't think like that. Don't give in so easily.

She knew she was leading him on. And she really didn't want to do that. But she also didn't want him to be with any one else.

Meg was greeted outside by Pocahontas, who dragged her in to where the guys were putting on their show. Even Meg had to laugh as they fumbled and sang along as horribly as possible. She felt her smile melt away as she became very aware of eyes on her. But, oddly enough, not on her outfit or her body. On her face. She glanced over at Hercules, who smiled and waved timidly, with those puppy eyes. She knew her heart was beating too fast.

_The big lug... _She playfully rolled her eyes before sending him a short, firm salute and a smirk. He laughed and looked down at his feet. She fought a smile as she made her way across the room to him. When she tapped his shoulder, he looked surprised. Then he just smiled.

"Hey, Meg..."

"Hey. You wanna lead me to these snacks people keep going on about?"

"Sure!" He beamed as he lead her to the kitchen. She almost lost control of her grin.

The guys had finished their song and everyone was cheering. Ferdinand's voice filled the air as he took up a microphone. "All right, the Kinect will be open all night. But I'm gonna get the music playing again!"

Everyone cheered again in approval as the music started back up. Aurora checked her watch. Almost eleven. She'd have to leave to pick up Cindy in about fifteen minutes. She heard a shriek and looked up to see Edward lifting Giselle up in the air and spinning with her. Giselle continued to screech but she was also laughing, so Aurora figured she was alright.

Aurora took the opportunity to glance around. Ariel was leading Eric back outside, followed by Charlotte and Naveen. Jasmine was chatting with Nakoma and Thomas. Aladdin was giving Jasmine a love-struck look, but most boys did. Flynn and Pheobus were debating whether or not they should do another song. John and Pocahontas were settled near her, with him in a chair and Pocahontas sitting on his lap. Kida was dragging Milo around everywhere with lighted eyes. Milo seemed to be humoring her, but he also seemed anxious.

_It's probably his first party... _She realized. She had to smile. He and Kida would be cute together.

She glanced toward the door. Phillip was welcoming other guests. Gaston strolled in with his bimbo entourage. They were followed by a girl with wild, carrot-colored curls and another girl with giant green eyes and a thick, golden braid that reached almost to her ankles accompanying the red-head. The blond looked familiar...she was a new student. She also looked waaay too excited. Aurora grinned. Then she saw Flynn start making his way over to the girl and felt her stomach clench.

Without thinking, she jumped up and almost ran over to the girl before Flynn could get within arm's reach.

"Hi. I'm Aurora." She held her hand out to the girl.

"Oh! I've heard about you! I'm Repunzal." Repunzal shook Aurora's hand vigorously.

Aurora grinned, ignoring Flynn as she and Repunzal brushed past him. The red-headed girl followed them out to the backyard. Repunzal stopped on the patio and gestured to her.

"This is Merida. We've been best friends since middle school!"

"Hiya." Merida waved shortly.

"Nice to meet you, Merida. You know I haven't seen you two around before this year..."

"I just transferred from Pixar High." Merida replied.

"And I've actually been home-schooled my whole life!" Repunzal added.

Aurora's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yeah. My mom's super-protective. But her business started really taking off over the summer, sooo...here I am."

"What grade are you guys in?"

"I'm a sophomore." Merida spoke up.

"Oh, me too!" Aurora smiled.

"I'm a senior." Repunzal added.

Aurora was surprised once again. "Really? Wow."

"I know. I look a lot younger." Repunzal laughed.

"Well, you picked a good year to join the world." Aurora joked, then inwardly cringed.

"I know! I'm so excited! I wanna join the cheer team sooo bad!" Repunzal was oblivious to the awkwardness.

"Well, coincidentally, I'm captain of cheer."

"No way!"

"Yeah!"

Merida rolled her eyes and excused herself to get a drink.

When she entered, she was immediately greeted by Mulan, who grinned.

"Hey, Merida!"

"Oh, hi!" Merida gave her a quick hug. "Do you know where I can get a drink?"

"Like, a soda? Or, like, a beer?"

"What do you think?"

Mulan laughed and led the crazy-haired girl into the kitchen. She reached into an ice bucket and pulled a bottle out for Merida. The redhead took it gratefully and twisted the cap right off, taking a deep gulp. Mulan laughed again.

"You Scotts really like to drink, huh?"

Merida sighed in satisfaction and set her bottle on the counter. She turned to Mulan in mock seriousness. "No, it's the Irish who like to drink. We Scotts like to fight."

Mulan shook her head. "So glad to see that sarcasm isn't lost on you."

The two girls cackled, drawing attention from around the room. John and Pocahontas appeared behind Mulan. John clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Mu."

"Oh, hey guys! This is Merida; She's joining the basketball and soccer teams. She's really good. Merida, this is Pocahontas and John."

"Hiya." Merida said with a crooked smile.

"Hey." Pocahontas grinned back, then looked up at John. "Why don't you go find Shang. I'm gonna chill here."

"Okay..." John disappeared outside.

Pocahontas took a seat with the other two at the counter and sighed. "I thought he'd never leave me alone." She turned to Mulan. "He's finding Shang for you, by the way."

"Oh, cool. But what's going on with you two?"

"He got jealous over one of my dad's interns being at the house because Nakoma can't keep her mouth shut. Now he's being protective."

Mulan shook her head. "You shouldn't let him do that. It's bad for both of you. I mean, you don't even take that kind of treatment from any one; Not even your dad! Why take it from him?"

Pocahontas shrugged, tired of having to have this conversation again. This was probably the fifth time since last year. "I dunno. John means well. And..." She sighed. "And I love that asshole."

"It's because of the sex, isn't it?"

Pocahontas grinned. "Well, that's another thing, yeah."

Both of them laughed. Merida smiled awkwardly from her spot across from them.

"So, Merida, you're joining basketball and soccer?" Pocahontas asked.

"Yeah." Merida grinned. "I play both with my dad and brothers all the time."

"Do you run pretty fast?"

"I suppose... Why?"

"We could use more people for track and field. Would you be interested?"

"Trying to steal my recruits, Pokie?"

Pocahontas gave Mulan a little shove. "Maybe. Try not to be so selfish, Mu." They both laughed. "Whataya say, Merida?"

Merida shrugged and grinned. "I dunno. I'll think about it."

Out in the backyard, a bunch of kids were in their swim suits and either running around with water guns or messing around in the pool. Ariel was sitting on the steps, grinning as Eric swam up to her.

"What are you doing over here?" He laughed, settling next to her.

She leaned back against the side and smiled. "Relaxing."

"Come swim with me."

She laughed. "Why? You're doing fine without me."

He grinned devilishly. "Well, what if I get knocked out and go under? I could die!"

She sighed, theatrically throwing her arms up to feign exasperation. "Well, I can't save you all the time!"

He pretended to look frightened. "But I could die!"

"Well, that's a risk you'll have to take!"

He looked shocked and she laughed. He smiled up at her. "Come on, Ariel. You're my lucky charm."

She smirked down at him for a moment. God, he was sweet. She sighed and eased herself off the step. "Okay."

He grinned before following her. They made it to the center of the pool when she felt him grab her ankle. She turned over to see the absolutely devious look on his face.

"What are you doing?"

He slowly pulled himself up to her. She laughed uneasily at this until their faces were about an inch apart. She pulled her leg out of his grasp and stood up so she could face him better. He grinned down at her, cupping her face with both of his hands. Then he slowly reached down and kissed her softly. She wrapped both of her arms around his neck and pressed herself firmly against him, not even questioning the change of pace. They kissed for a while, until a wayward beachball found its way to Eric's head. He turned quickly to see it was Aladdin, standing on the patio with Flynn cackling at his side.

"Get a room, you two!" Aladdin called.

Eric grinned as he offered them his middle finger, sending everyone around into a fit of laughter. Then he turned back to her.

"Maybe later." He winked jokingly.

But Ariel felt herself melt, realizing that there was nothing she wanted more than to have Eric right at that moment. She stood on the tips of her toes and threw her arms around him, kissing him more forcefully than before. This time he was the one to melt.

They didn't even notice when they slowly sunk under the water.

"Aren't they cute?" Snow sighed.

Ferdinand laughed. "Yeah. Adorable."

Snow beamed up at him. She loved hearing him talk; His German accent had been softened by his time in America, but it was still present.

They smiled at each other for a moment. Then Aurora walked up to them.

"I'm gonna go get Cindy. Be back in about half an hour."

"Kay." Ferdinand and Snow said simultaneously, not taking their eyes off each other. Aurora rolled her eyes and walked away. She passed by Phillip on the way out.

"I'm gonna go get Cindy. Let Charlie know she'll be here in the next half hour."

"Okay."

She started heading for the door.

"Uh... Rorie!" He called suddenly, stopping her.

She turned. "Yeah?"

"Can I, uh... Talk to you when you get back?"

She felt her stomach turn, but managed to keep her expression pleasant. "Uh... Sure. Be back soon."

"Okay..."

She took off without turning back.

Cindy sat by her window anxiously, constantly checking the time. She wore her hair down, the soft curls resting on her shoulders. She had on a pink short-sleeved mini dress with a white belt and pink flats. Her make up was simple: mascara and a soft pink lipstick. When she saw Aurora's car pull up, she eased the window open and climbed out onto the sill, closing it carefully behind her. She then took a moment to look at the tree she was supposed to climb down.

It looked sturdy enough; The limbs were thick. She stretched out one leg until her foot found the closest limb, then the other. She began an agonizingly slow descent down the tree, which was a lot taller than she or Aurora had calculated.

Aurora watched from her car, keeping an eye on Cindy's feet. She knew that if Cindy fell, it would be her fault for even thinking that climbing the tree was a good plan. She silently prayed that her best friend wouldn't get hurt.

Cindy was halfway down when her foot slipped. She stifled a cry as she went down, crashing through weaker branches as she went. Her vision blurred as her face was bombarded with twigs. Her hands were shredded by the gnarled bark as she tried to cling to the body of the tree.

Her fall was stopped within seconds when her torso slammed into a limb only a few feet off the ground. Her legs dangled painfully below her, and her arms were pinned under her chest. She gasped for air and lowered herself so that she hung from the tree limb by her hands. She was only about two feet off the ground now. Without a second thought, she dropped down.

She stumbled and fell to her knees. She tried to catch her breath. Spots swam through her vision as she wrapped her arms around her ribs.

As soon as Cindy had slipped out of her vision, Aurora threw her car door open and rushed across the street. Her legs felt heavy as she hurdled herself across the wide expanse of grass that was Cindy's front yard. The only thing she heard was her own heart thumping as she neared the tree. When she turned to find Cindy kneeling on the ground, she didn't stop herself from throwing herself down next to her friend.

"Are you okay?" She hissed.

Cindy grunted. "I think so... Nothing's broken, at least."

"What happened?"

"I slipped." Cindy mumbled.

"Can you make it?"

Cindy rolled her eyes up at her theatrical friend. "No. You're gonna have to go without me."

It took Aurora a moment to figure out Cindy was joking. She scoffed and Cindy grinned at her.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Well, can you walk?"

Cindy stood up slowly, trying to take steady breaths. When she didn't keel over, she nodded. "Yeah."

Aurora had stood up with her, prepared to catch her if she fell. When Cindy proved to be fine, Aurora turned her face toward the top of the tree.

"It's amazing that they didn't wake up..."

Cindy laughed shortly. "Please. When the three of them fall asleep, nothing can wake them up. Even if they did, they probably thought I was a raccoon or something."

Aurora nodded as they headed over to the car. "Your stepmom won't come to check on you, right?"

"Nah. After she locks the attic door, I'm on my own. And if she does, I stuck a chair under the doorknob. Just in case. She'll think the door's jammed and check back later."

"Cindy, that's horrible."

Cindy shrugged as she adjusted her dress. The tight skirt of it and the snug t-shirt design of the top was uncomfortable when it was off-kilter.

They climbed into the front of the car and Aurora started it up. As soon as it was running, she took off. She glanced over at Cindy, who was fiddling with the white belt.

"Cute outfit." Aurora grinned.

"Yeah? It's kinda old... But I never got to wear this dress, so I figured I would get a night's use out of it."

Aurora's grin faded as she got a closer look at Cindy's face. "God, Cindy! You took a beating on the way down, didn't you?"

Cindy reached a hand to her cheek without thinking. "Shit. Is it bad?"

"Jesus! Not as bad as your hands!"

"Shit! What will Charles think?"

"Don't worry. We'll clean you up at Phillip's. My phone's in the glove box; Pull it out and send him a text telling him we're on our way but he has to keep Charming toward the back until I've fixed you up. We'll find them afterward."

Cindy was already typing. "Thanks, Rorie."

Aurora grinned. "No problem. Tonight's gonna be awesome, I swear."

Phillip felt his phone buzz. He opened it and frowned at the message. He sent a quick "Okay" back and immediately went looking for Charming. He found him talking to Snow and Ferdinand and quickly joined them.

Merida and Repunzal were sitting with Mulan and chatting. Pocahontas had been dragged away by John and Shang would be showing up for Mulan soon. Repunzal sipped at an orange soda and glanced around. A few freshman- Peter Pan and his little girlfriends, Tinkerbell and Wendy- had crashed the party but seemed to fit in well enough.

Repunzal's gaze wandered until it rested on a quiet boy who was sitting in a corner with Meg and Hercules, smoking a cigarrette and listening to Meg complain about some teacher while Hercules laughed. He had a dark brown pony tail, his bangs hanging near his pale blue eyes. And he was continually smirking at the story being told to him.

_He's kinda cute... _Repunzal watched him for a few seconds. When his gaze flitted toward her, she ducked. When she realized he wasn't turning away, she slowly looked back up. But he wasn't looking at her. She followed his gaze till she was looking at Merida.

She looked down at her drink and smiled. _He has a crush on Merida! They would be soooo cute! _She bounced a little in her seat and Merida shot her a weird look. She just grinned at the redhead.

Then a tall Asian guy showed up behind Mulan. "Mulan?"

She looked up at him and smiled. She stood up and extended her hand. "Shang?"

He shook it and smirked. "John said you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. Wanna go outside?"

"Sure."

They disappeared. Repunzal suddenly turned toward Merida with a grin. Merida stared at her.

"Whaaaat? Why are you...looking at me like that?"

"See that guy in the corner? With the pony tail?"

"The one who's smoking?"

"Yeah!"

"What about him?" Merida was suspicious now.

"He was totally looking at you."

"Good for him?"

"Merida!"

"Whaaat?!"

"Go talk to him!"

"Nope. No way."

"But whyyy?!"

"You know I don't date."

"You should, though! I mean this is high school!"

"Exactly. Not a good time to date. Guys are immature and lame. Besides, I'm joining three sports teams! I don't have time for _boys._" She practically spat out the last word.

Repunzal groaned. "You are impossible!"

"If it's so important to you, then _you _go out with him."

"What? No, Merida that's..." She laughed. "That isn't how it works! And he's not really my type."

"What, you don't like bad boys?" Merida scoffed playfully.

"Definitely not." She wrinkled her nose. "And definitely not ones who smoke..."

Pheobus and John were putting on another show with the Kinect, drawing a big crowd. Meg and Hercules were among the crowd, laughing and cheering while the guys failed honorably. Meg's phone started buzzing. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered it.

"Yeah."

"Meg?"

"Yeah, Esme, what's up?"

"I'm off a little early and I'm changing right now. Can you be here in about ten minutes?"

"With the way I drive? I'll be there in seven."

Esmeralda groaned. "Please be careful."

"Yeah, yeah. See you soon." She hung up and looked up at Hercules. She answered his curious look with, "Gotta go get Esme. Be back in 14 minutes."

"Fourteen?"

"Count 'em." She smirked as she strolled away. "And record this for me, will you? I don't wanna miss it."

Hercules smiled and shook his head, pulling out his phone.

Esmeralda was pulling on her skinny jeans when she heard someone clear her throat behind her. She turned to see Maleficent standing in the doorway regally, her head held high. She was a tall, sleek woman, with elegantly angled features painted with dramatic colors, her dark hair always pulled away from her face. Her clothes hung from her slim frame, usually being the colors black, purple or green, and being made with billowy fabrics and feathers. She was also one of the meanest women Esmeralda had ever met.

It made sense that she would be a co-manager of a strip club. Esmeralda met Maleficent's gaze head on, standing straight. Dignity was a strange thing to find when she was only half-dressed. Maleficent sauntered to the center of the room, staring Esmeralda down the whole way. Esmeralda held her gaze without flinching. When Maleficent stopped, she smiled. It almost seemed genuine.

"You did great tonight, dear. We get a lot of comments about you from the gentlemen."

Esmeralda relaxed and went back to changing. "Glad I'm a favorite."

"We're actually considering giving you more stage time."

Esmeralda turned back to her. "Can't do it. Sorry. I still have school and then there's dance team. Maybe over the summer."

"Mmm. Well, I just wanted to congratulate you. We haven't had a dancer like you in ages. You have a bright future ahead of you."

Esmeralda laughed. "I'm sorry, what? I'm a senior in high school with 2.0 GPA and I'm already a stripper. Does that sound like it promises a bright future?"

Maleficent's eyes gleamed in amusement, then turned icy. "That's more than I had going for me, child." And she left.

Esmeralda sighed and pulled on her flip-flops. She didn't enjoy this job. The people were evil, the clients were insufferable and pathetic, the stage lighting wasn't flattering, the clothes were uncomfortable, and the poles were never lubricated well. But, she could dance, and the money was good. Her mom wasn't really working, (to clarify: her job was a step down from Esmeralda's. The shifts were irregular and the pay not nearly as good. And, at least the men Esmeralda danced for couldn't touch the merchandise.), and they needed money by any means necessary. Her mom would just pretend not to know how her daughter was getting paid and handle the bills like any other mother would.

Esmeralda's phone buzzed and she checked her messages. Meg had just pulled up. Esmeralda stuffed her phone into her purse, and quickly counted her tips from that night.

_How nice... Someone gave me a five. _Esmeralda smirked as she folded the bills up and stored them in her wallet. She slung her purse over her shoulder and headed out.

She couldn't avoid Ursula on the way out though. A lot of people were threatened by Ursula, but Esmeralda liked her a hell of a lot more than she liked Maleficent. Ursula was much more personable; She could make the employees feel like she really cared. Also, she wasn't really a woman. She was one of the most acclaimed drag queens of all time.

"Esme! Great job tonight, sweetie! You coming in in the morning? The sad morning drunks really appreciate you."

"Can't. Dance team practice." Truthfully, practice was in the early evening, but she knew she would need all morning and afternoon to recuperate from the party.

"Oh! Too bad, darling. See you Friday?"

"Yup. A little earlier than usual."

"At what, nine?"

"Yup."

Ursula grinned as she put out her cigarette. "See you then, sweetheart."

"See you!" Esmeralda rushed outside. She all but ran to Meg's car and threw herself into the front seat, slamming the door after her.

Meg gave her an eye roll. "Hey, sweetie. How was work?"

"Same as usual." Esmeralda sighed.

"You know, the guys are gonna catch onto you eventually. And they will flip the fuck out."

Esmeralda rolled her eyes now. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Besides, if they haven't found out by now, I'm sure that it's a long way off."

Meg quirked an eyebrow. "Not if you keep wearing your make up like that." She muttered as she started to drive.

"Shit. Did I not wash my face?" She looked at herself in the mirror. "Fuck!"

"Want me to drive slow so you can fix yourself up?"

Esmeralda was already digging through her make up kit. "That would be great."

Meg drove in silence for a while while Esmeralda scrubbed at her face. When Esmeralda had broken her make up down to eyeliner, mascara and a red lipstick, she sighed. As she adjusted her hair scarf, she asked, "So, who's there, any way?"

"The usual crowd. Plus two new girls and a couple of freshman."

"Freshman?"

"Yeah. They're okay, as far as I can tell... You know, Pheobus is pretty excited to see you."

"Really? That's sweet."

Meg rolled her eyes, knowing that Esmeralda had tuned out. They'd reached the gate and were now travelling down the driveway. Esmeralda was taking it all in with a grin.

"It's beautiful. Even at night. When was the last time we came here?"

Meg scoffed. "Like, freshman year."

"Hmm."

Meg parked haphazardly in the courtyard and got out. Esmeralda followed, and when the doors were closed, Meg locked the car and stuffed the keys into her jacket pocket. Her hands remained in her pockets as she led Esmeralda inside.

When Pheobus saw Esmeralda walk in, he smiled. She grinned back and waved. He swiftly walked over to her.

"Hey, Esme."

"Hey, Pheebs. What's up?"

"Not much. The guys and I were about to do another song. Wanna watch?"

She was already laughing. The image that sprang up in her mind made the offer hard to pass up. "Sure."

Meg disappeared into the kitchen, where Hercules had rejoined Jim.

"Hey Jimmy. Hey Wonder Boy."

"You're back!" Hercules smiled.

"Yeah. I said I would be." She took her seat next to him and sent Jim a half-hearted glare. "When are you gonna get off your ass? It's a party."

Jim laughed. "I was just gonna go get a drink." He stood up walked away.

Meg shook her head and sighed, and Hercules laughed at her. She gave him a playful punch on the arm. "Watch it, Wonder Boy." He just smiled at her.

Merida was digging a beer out of the ice bucket when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned slightly to see the boy that Repunzal had been talking about. He smirked and gestured toward the bucket. She nodded and pulled out a second bottle. She turned fully and held it out to him. He accepted it, and they both twisted the caps right off and started gulping down the liquid.

When she caught the challenging look in his eye, she started to chug faster. Somehow it had become a contest, and whoever finished first would be the winner. A few agonizing seconds passed before Merida finished. She gasped as she clapped the bottle down on the counter.

"Ha!"

The boy faltered and almost spat up his drink as he put down his own bottle. They stared at each other for a minute, then simultaneously started cackling. Merida ran a hand through her mass of hair, pulling the curls away from her face. Of course, when she let go, the hair bounced back to its original place, a stray strand hanging in front of her eye. Her eyes beamed up at him. He grinned.

"I'm Jim."

"I'm Merida."

Hearing her accent made him smile. "Where are you from?" He asked sarcastically.

She laughed. "Pakistan."

"Oh, how exotic."

She nodded with a cackle. He chuckled. She was quite a sight. Her crazy hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes were all intriguing features. And the way she dressed said a lot about her: loose blue jeans and black combat boots with a baggy plaid shirt, hanging open to reveal a white t-shirt. _This girl's awesome... And she kinda looks like Eddie Vedder. _He smiled.

It was then that Merida caught Repunzal smirking at them from her seat at the counter. Merida shook her head and looked up at him firmly.

"Listen. I did not come here to flirt."

He looked amused. "Oh?"

"I don't think I need a boyfriend in order to be happy. So whatever funny thoughts ya have runnin' through your head, you just- Just clear them out!" She gestured wildly with her arms.

He held in a chuckle and ducked his head. Biting his lip, he looked back up at her. "So...you don't want a boyfriend."

"Nope." She crossed her arms.

"Well... Do you want a friend?" He took a step forward.

She stared up at him. "Uh..."

"I'm pretty sure friends can help you be happy." He smirked.

After a moment, she laughed. "I would love to be friends with you." She crinkled her nose in a grimace. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you."

He shook his head. "I dunno... I might not be able to get over it."

She caught the gleam in his eye and shoved him. "Shut up, you!" They both laughed.

Aurora grinned as she watched Cindy and Charming walk together around the backyard. She'd cleaned Cindy up quickly and thoroughly. The last thing her friend needed was an infection. As she watched the couple pass by the pool, her attention was caught by another friend. Eric was seated on a pool step, holding a content Ariel on his lap. They were surrounded by Pocahontas, John, Nakoma and Thomas. Kida was trying to coax Milo into the water. Aurora's gaze flitted over to a patio table where Snow and Ferdinand were just chatting and giggling up a storm. At the table next to them, Naveen and Charlotte were flirting like there was no tomorrow. The two of them had been inseperable all night. And even at the next table, Jasmine was chatting with Aladdin while Flynn aimed another beachball at John's head. Meanwhile, Aladdin seemed to hang on every word Jasmine said, like there was nothing more important in the whole world.

_I want someone to look at me like that... To listen to me and treat me like the freaking princess I am. _She couldn't keep the bitter thoughts at bay. She'd thought she was happy being single, and that guys were only trouble and heartbreak. But seeing all her love struck friends so happy with their company, and seeming somehow more beautiful for it, made her think she might have been wrong.

She just didn't understand. Every guy she'd dated so far had turned out to be using her or to just be a jerk. She knew she was beautiful; Everyone told her. Her friends and family practically treated her like royalty. Her whole life she'd been showered with praise and respect and everything she could possibly want. Everyone loved her, so why couldn't she find a boy who would treat her the way she deserved to be treated?

When Mulan and Shang walked past her and Mulan sent her a smile and a wave, Aurora could barely fake a smile in reply.

"I just don't think it's a good idea, Mulan." Shang shook his head. "I mean, we play against big guys. Like, monster-sized guys!"

She looked up at him pleadingly. "Please, Shang?"

"I have to say no."

"Bu-!"

"No! I'm putting my foot down! It's on me to lead us to victory this year, and I can't have you around to mess it up." He spoke harshly, but at the sight of her face, he softened. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head and stormed away. He sighed.

It was 1:45 when the incident happened.

Aurora ignored whoever it was who sat next to her, gazing numbly at the surface of the pool water. When a giant arm wrapped itself around her, she jumped to attention. Gaston was leering over her, and was definitely drunk.

"Hey, beautiful."

She tried to push herself out of his grip. "Let me go, Gaston. I'm not in the mood to put up with you."

"Oh, don't be like that..." His tongue was lazy in his mouth. "Just relax..."

His lips started attacking her neck. She struggled violently against him.

"Ew, stop! Let go!"

She didn't really start to panic until his heavy hand started fumbling its way up her leg and under her skirt. She shrieked and started to beat at him with her tiny fists. They obviously had no effect.

"Get off of me!" She finally gave up pleading with him and decided to try and get some assistance. "Help! Someone help me! Please!"

She continued to scream while she kept bombarding Gaston with her fists and, eventually, her feet. She heard a lot of splashing around and feet running on the pavement.

"Someone help her!" Ariel shrieked, climbing out of the pool. Eric and John were already running over to where Gaston was attacking Aurora. Ferdinand and Charming were already there. Ferdinand lifted Gaston up and tossed him onto the ground. Then him and Charming proceeded to repeatedly bring their fists down on him. But Gaston, as we know, was very very drunk and, therefore, suddenly a superhuman. He shoved the two over as if they weighed nothing and started making his way back to Aurora, who was being led away by Jasmine and Ariel. Eric and Aladdin leapt into his path and ran headlong into his gut as a team.

He didn't seem fazed. He lifted them both up, one in each arm, and threw them in opposite directions. Eric crashed into a speaker (_hard_) and Aladdin plummeted into the pool, making Nakoma shriek. Ariel squeaked and ran over to where Eric lay groaning.

"Aladdin!" Jasmine cried.

He hadn't resurfaced. Pocahontas dove under the water while Nakoma climbed out and ran around the other side, where she was met by Jasmine. They knelt by the side of the pool and waited.

Alone now, and with Gaston still chasing her, Aurora whipped around wildly, looking for a place to run. She saw Kida and Milo waving from across the way, on the other side of the pool. When John suddenly jumped on Gaston's back and wrangled him to the ground, Aurora took off around the pool. She managed not to slip, and as soon as she reached the couple, Kida grabbed her by the shoulders.

"You are alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Aurora relaxed as Kida embraced her. Milo stood by awkwardly. "He didn't hurt me."

"Well, he could have." Kida pulled back and gave Aurora a once-over.

Milo gripped Kida's shoulder. "He still could."

They followed his gaze to see that Gaston had managed to get the upper hand in the scuffle. Pocahontas, who had managed to save an unconscious Aladdin (who now lay by the side of the pool with Jasmine, Nakoma and Thomas crowding him), ran over to where the two football players were rolling around on the ground. Gaston had one arm around John's neck. John's face was red, and slowly growing darker.

"Gaston! Let him go!" Pocahontas screamed. "You'll kill him!"

Gaston didn't seem to hear her. Everyone watched in horror while John struggled to inhale. No one saw Mulan and Shang running over.

"Stay back!" Shang called to Mulan. He rushed right at Gaston and tackled him to the ground. At first, he didn't let John go. Pocahontas and Mulan shared a look before simultaneously running over and attempting to pry Gaston's arm away from John's neck. Eventually the girls gave up on pulling and moved on to punching any part of Gaston they could reach. His arm seemed to take forever to loosen. When it did, Mulan shoved it away and helped Pocahontas drag John away.

Shang seemed close to winning when Gaston suddenly threw up his newly free arm and caught Shang's nose with the beefy fist. Shang yelled and fell back, gripping his nose. Gaston pulled himself up enough to crawl after Shang, gripping him by the hair and wrenching back his head. When he had a good shot at Shang's face, he brought his fist down on it again. And again. He repeated it over and over. Everyone started screaming but he wouldn't stop.

"Gaston, no!" Mulan screamed while Pocahontas and Thomas worked to awaken John. John's head lolled back and forth heavily. When Gaston didn't seem intent on letting Shang go, Thomas jumped up and leapt onto Gaston's back, forcing him to release Shang and toppling Gaston over, smashing his face into the pavement. While Gaston howled like an animal, Shang crawled away shakily, seeming unable to hold himself up. Mulan scrambled over and helped him to stand, leading him to a table to sit.

Gaston suddenly reared up, sending Thomas flying back and crashing into the cement. Thomas groaned as he tried to sit up, but found that he couldn't. The pain in his back made it impossible to move. Nakoma rushed to his side, tears trailing down her cheeks.

Gaston climbed clumsily to his feet, whirling about wildly till his crazed eyes reached Aurora. She gasped at the sight of him; His face and hands were bloodied. His wild eyes and loose hair made him look more like an animal than a high school boy. And now he was barreling toward her.

"Milo. Get her inside. Get Phillip. I'll handle this." Kida stepped in front of Milo and Aurora.

"Kida-"

"Go."

Milo seemed doubtful, but decided to listen. He grabbed Aurora gingerly by the arm and started leading her away.

"We can't just leave her!"

"Aurora, we have to trust her..."

Kida stood and waited while Gaston moved toward her, his chest heaving. When he was near enough, she suddenly dropped down and threw out one long leg, knocking both of his out from under him. He crashed down to the ground with a cry while Kida jumped back up.

"Holy shit..." Aurora gasped.

Milo ushered her into the house through the back door, where a crowd had formed. They were met by Giselle and Edward. When she saw Aurora, Giselle's eyes widened.

"Rorie! What happened?!" She immediately hugged the blond.

"Gaston's a drunk idiot." Milo stated flatly.

But Aurora's downcast eyes and shaking frame told Giselle that there was much more to that statement. She glanced up at Edward and he gave her a single, firm nod. She wrapped an arm around Aurora and pulled her over to the living room. Edward looked down at Milo.

"Where is he?"

"Out here." Milo led him outside.

Giselle and Aurora took a seat on a sofa, near Esmeralda, Meg, and Hercules. While Giselle tried to help fix Aurora's dress, Esmeralda turned concerned eyes on Aurora.

"Oh, my God! Are you okay?"

Aurora laughed hollowly. "Gaston just went a little crazy..." But Aurora was shaking and wouldn't actually look at Esmeralda. And Giselle was warily eyeing her friend.

Esmeralda focused on Aurora's face, and didn't like the look she saw there. Her mom had had that expression a couple of times; It was a painful mixture of confused shame and uncontrollable paranoia, like she was expecting a death blow. And guilt, that was there too. And horror...

Esmeralda felt that horror grip her as she leaned toward the blond. "Did he... He tried to...?" She couldn't say it.

Aurora just rubbed her hands over her eyes. Giselle's jaw locked. Was that hatred in her eyes? When Hercules spoke up from behind her, Esmeralda jumped.

"Where is he?" His voice was deadly. Meg looked up at him in surprise.

"Outside." Giselle said.

Hercules immediately headed outside. Aurora hung her head in her hands.

"Oh, God... And we just left Kida out there..."

"Kida?" Meg exchanged a look with Esmeralda before making a run for the back door.

Esmeralda started to follow, but stopped herself and looked at Giselle. "I can stay if you want."

Giselle smiled. "It's fine. I've got this."

Esmeralda cast a doubtful look at Aurora's hunched figure. Giselle didn't know a pain or embarrassment as big as this... If Aurora freaked out, how would Giselle handle it? Esmeralda shook herself. Giselle knew Aurora a hell of a lot better than she did. Also, it wasn't like Giselle was going anywhere else.

"Okay..." Esmeralda said before disappearing. She passed Cindy and Snow on the way out.

"Where's Aurora?" Cindy demanded.

"On a sofa in the main room. Giselle's with her." Esmeralda supplied quickly before pushing through the crowd. When she made it through the mass of bodies, she felt someone's hand grip her forearm. She whirled around with a raised fist, only to see Pheobus holding her back. She dropped her hand but pulled away. When he didn't let go, she snarled. "Pheobus, what the hell? Let go!"

"No, Esme! You don't need to get involved. It's dangerous. Besides, Kida's doing fine..."

They both turned toward the scuffle when the crowd around them cheered. Gaston had been knocked down again, but was pulling himself back up stubbornly. He roared as he threw his heavy arms at Kida's head in a drunken windmill fashion. She was quick and ducked each shot easily. Then, from her spot on the ground, she sprung up so that her hip was at Gaston's eye level, then pushed both of her legs out in front of her, kicking Gaston square in the jaw. He jolted back and stumbled, tripping over himself and falling backward onto the ground. Kida landed cleanly with her knees bended, then straightened. She narrowed her eyes as she drew closer to the fallen giant, who didn't seem to be getting up anytime soon. She relaxed and smiled as she gave the crowd a thumbs-up. Everyone cheered and clapped.

"Holy shit." Edward gawked.

Milo smirked. "I know."

Kida caught his look and responded with a grin, dimples showing through. She was too distracted to dodge Gaston's hand when it shot up and caught her ankle in a vice like grip. She grunted and tried to pull away, but his meaty hands wouldn't let her budge. With a flick of his wrist, he sent her falling to the ground, twisting her ankle at a painful angle. She cried out, trying to wrench herself free.

"Kida!" Milo yelled as he rushed across the yard to her. He was followed by Edward, Hercules, Meg, and Ferdinand. Esmeralda tried to run over to help, but Pheobus hadn't released her. She glared up at him icily.

"Let go."

He shook his head.

"I don't need you to protect me! Now let go!" She finally freed herself, and immediately took off. Pheobus stood still for a few seconds before chasing her. He passed Naveen, who was being led inside by a very angry Charlotte.

"Damn it, Naveen! We have to find her! Why the hell did you hold me back?!"

Naveen smiled uneasily. "I was only worried about your safety, sweetheart..."

"My friend was almost raped!" Charlotte almost shrieked, drawing awkward stares from people around them. Naveen shifted his eyes nervously.

"There!" Charlotte gasped, running toward where Aurora was sitting with Giselle, Cindy and Snow. Charlotte plopped down next to Aurora and dramatically threw her arms around her with a squeal. "Are you alright?! I tried to get to you, but _someone..._" she glared at Naveen, "...held me back."

"I'm fine, honestly..." She didn't feel like she was lying now because she'd finally stopped shaking. But trying to smile was still hard. "Really..."

"Sweetie, you were just assaulted." Charlotte spoke bluntly. "No need to try to be strong. No one's blaming you."

Aurora's shock showed on her features, and she ducked her head to hide it. Cindy wrapped her arms around her friend while Snow gripped her hand. Giselle looked up at Naveen.

"What's happening out there?" She was worried about Edward. Of course the members of the football team had had to deal with Gaston before when he was drunk, but not like this.

Naveen shrugged. "I think Gaston's close to giving up..."

She nodded and looked back at Aurora. "You want a drink?"

"Get her an orange soda." Charlotte instructed.

Giselle nodded and slipped away to the kitchen. She was stopped by Merida and Jim.

"Oi! What's happenin'?!" Merida cried.

"Um..." Giselle leaned in and spoke quietly. "Gaston's very drunk and violent... And he, uh...attacked Rorie."

Merida stared over at the bright-eyed blond cheerleader she'd been talking to not even an hour earlier. Jim placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's terrible!" Repunzal squeaked.

Giselle jumped. She hadn't known Repunzal was right next to her. "Uh...yeah." Giselle hurried to snag a soda from the bucket and all but ran back to Aurora. She held the soda out to her and Aurora took it gingerly.

"Thanks." Aurora mumbled, opening the drink with numb fingers and taking a slow sip.

"Don't worry, sweetie. We'll make sure he pays for this. My daddy's the best lawyer around, you know." Charlotte was babbling.

"That's not necessary. And you know Gaston's dad is an even match for yours..."

"Hey! He only beat my dad once!"

"Sweetie." Naveen smirked at Charlotte. "I don't think that's the point. Any way, these charges are made at Gaston all the time, and he always gets off the hook."

Charlotte was staring up at him blankly. He frowned. "What?"

She shook her head and grinned. "I just love that accent of yours..." She giggled.

He laughed shyly and glanced down. Giselle and Cindy glared at them while Snow just kept a worried look focused on Aurora.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Snow murmured.

Aurora shook her head and sipped at her drink distractedly. Then she straightened a bit, realizing something. "Are Charming and Ferdinand okay?" She didn't remember seeing them after Gaston fought them off.

"They're fine." Snow grinned. "Ferdinand stayed outside to help."

"And Charlie went looking for Phil... It's taking an awful long time, though..." Cindy trailed off.

Meanwhile, all the guys were fighting to pull Gaston's hand away from Kida' s ankle. Meg and Esmeralda were talking to her to keep her distracted.

"It's gonna be okay, Kida..." Esmeralda was saying.

Kida scoffed. "It's just my ankle, Esme. I'm not dying."

Meg was watching the guys's progress. They were getting nowhere. She rolled her eyes and stood with her hands on her hips, then strolled toward Gaston's head.

"Meg, no!" Hercules cried.

She raised an eyebrow at him before lifting her foot and bringing it down on Gaston's neck. Gaston gagged and both hands flew up to his throat. While he was rolling around and choking, Esmeralda helped Kida into the house, followed by Pheobus and Milo. Meg skipped over to Hercules and smirked. He just gaped at her.

"Wow..."

"Calm down, Wonder Boy. It wasn't an outrageous or selfless act. It was just the smart thing to do."

He grinned at her. Edward looked over at them.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Edward was watching while Gaston continued to writhe on the ground.

"He'll be fine. In fact, you're probably gonna have quite a fight on your hands in about two minutes."

"Oh, great." Ferdinand mumbled.

Meg smirked. "The only way you're getting him out of this party is either unconscious or in a body bag. You decide." And she left for the house.

The guys all gathered and watched Gaston's wriggling form. Pheobus rejoined them after a moment.

"We need a game plan." Hercules said tiredly.

"Brilliant!" Edward cheered.

Ferdinand rolled his eyes while Pheobus looked around suspiciously.

"Where the hell has Flynn been this whole time?" Pheobus spoke after a moment of searching.

It was then that Gaston became mobile again. He roared as he ran Pheobus down, tackling him to the ground. Pheobus grunted and then went completely still. Hercules pulled Gaston off of him and tossed him away. He looked down at Pheobus. For a horrifying second, he thought Pheobus might have been dead. The slight rise and fall of Pheobus's chest put him at ease. He watched Ferdinand lift Pheobus up and carry him inside.

Then Hercules was flying through the air. Gaston had lifted Hercules up above his head and tossed him halfway across the yard. Hercules heard a crack and cried out; his arm was bent at the most wrong angle. When he looked up, Edward had been thrown into the pool. He tried to stand, but the pain in his arm had him convulsing. His legs gave out and he fell back to his knees. His vision blurred, but he saw Meg running toward him before he passed out from the pain.

Gaston was barreling toward the back door, where the crowd had cleared a while ago. The door was wide open and he was free to walk through. He didn't pay attention to the tiny clusters of bystanders watching him and pointing their phones at him. He took his first triumphant step through the door, thinking of what he would do to Aurora when he reached her...

Then he fell flat on his face. It took his drunken mind a while to gather how he'd fallen, and why everyone around him was laughing and jeering. He looked down at his feet. He could barely discern a string that had been tightened across the doorway. It had tripped him. Someone had set it up...

Of all the people around him, Flynn was laughing the loudest. Flynn was standing with Naveen in the threshold of the main room in front of Gaston. Gaston settled a fiery glare on their cackling forms and slowly rose. Everyone stopped laughing abruptly.

"I thought you said that would stop him..." Naveen hissed.

"Well, it's always worked!" Flynn cried.

Gaston drew nearer and nearer. Over Flynn's shoulder, he saw Aurora's terrified gaze levelled on him. He snarled and stared down at Flynn and Naveen, raising one mighty fist.

There was a scurry of tiny feet behind him and then a clanging noise. Gaston's face went from a twisted, horrifying snarl to a completely blank stare before he fell to the tile floor, unconscious. Behind him, a tiny girl with a long, thick braid of golden hair and the biggest, greenest eyes stood with a frying pan raised menacingly. Or, as menacingly as possible for a girl of her size and demeanor.

Flynn gaped at her along with everyone else for a shocked moment. But when the whole house erupted into cheers and a girl with crazy, fiery curls ran up and hugged the girl, he just continued to gape.

_A frying pan. My trap, and a good number of the members of the football team, did nothing to stop him... And she took him out with a frying pan..._

She caught his stare and smiled at him shyly, her emerald eyes gleaming. He felt himself return her smile despite himself. Then he heard Meg yelling for help outside and most of the house was running to her. Edward had climbed out of the pool and was already there along with Nakoma and Thomas. Meg was kneeling beside an unconscious Hercules. His arm was definitely broken. Mulan helped Shang over to them, while Shang held an ice pack to his nose. Aladdin had come to at some point, and was coming to meet the group accompanied by Jasmine, Andrina and Adella (two of Ariel's sisters; the others were either in college or working now). Eventually the whole house was outside. Esmeralda had stayed in to be with Pheobus, Pocahontas was waiting for John to wake up, and Milo was fussing over Kida's ankle; They were all in the living room. Gaston was left on the floor near the back door.

Aurora glanced around. Eric had awaken; Ariel was kneeling next him on the porch. He'd barely moved from the speakers; With how hard he'd hit them, his body must have been aching... She continued to glance around. She frowned when she saw that Charming and Phillip were still missing. She felt like someone else was missing, but everyone who was at the party seemed to be present or otherwise accounted for. She tried to push through the crowd, but couldn't get anywhere. She stood at the back and sighed, crossing her arms. She hoped everything was okay...

A meaty hand clamped over her mouth, immobilizing her entire jaw. She tried to shriek as Gaston pulled her back toward the house, but no one would hear her. He was moving slow, and she could tell it pained him. She struggled the whole while with all of her strength, kicking at his knees with her long legs. He shook her violently and she screamed. She heard shouting from the living room.

"He went out here! Come on!" It was Esmeralda, and she was coming outside. She ran out, halting on the porch. "Shit! He got Aurora!" She called over her shoulder.

Aurora cried out in relief when she saw Charming and Phillip run out after Esmeralda. Charming spoke quietly to Esmeralda, gesturing toward the door. She nodded with a locked jaw and headed inside. By now, a good half of the crowd was watching in horror while Phillip stormed toward Gaston, who still held Aurora in the python-like grip of his massive arms.

Aurora tried to shake her head at Phillip, her eyes wild. Phillip wasn't a weak kid; He'd played sports his whole life, making him lean and toned. And sure, he was a good couple inches taller than Gaston. But Gaston was massive, and Phillip definitely wasn't the fighting type. But Gaston definitely was.

_Gaston's going to kill him... _Aurora continued to fight her way out of Gaston's grip, groaning when he tightened his arms. She tried to shake her head again, but her mobility was limited. Gaston was infuriated by her struggling and shook her again. The jolt made her shriek.

"Phil, no!" Eric was trying to stand now, Ariel helping him. Ariel's eyes were glued to Aurora, and her grip on Eric was becoming painful.

Charming was following Phillip with a stoic look. He was completely calm, as if the situation wasn't dangerous or potentially life-threatening. Everyone was yelling and some of the guys started running over. Esmeralda was lingering nervously near the kitchen window.

It was only when Phillip threw an ear-splitting punch at Gaston's jaw that everyone relaxed. The jaw-shattering blow threw Gaston backward. He threw Aurora away from him mid-fall, and she hit the ground a couple of feet from him with a grunt, rolling away. Cindy and Snow ran to her and fell to their knees beside her. There was a splashing sound and they all turned to the pool. Gaston had stumbled into it. Phillip jumped in after him.

"Phillip!" Aurora shrieked, trying to crawl toward the pool. Cindy and Snow stopped her. Charming ran ahead and dove in after his friend.

The moments spent waiting for them to resurface were agonizing. Everyone was fixated on the water's surface, trying to discern any human shape. The only light would have been the moon, but it was so cloudy out that the pale sphere was shrouded and therefore useless. Flynn turned toward the patio, where Ariel was forcing Eric to sit at a table.

"Get the lights, Ariel!" Flynn called.

It was only as she was heading for the series of switches by the back door that everyone's attention was roused by a roaring splash. Phillip and Charming were wading toward the steps, dragging a groggy Gaston behind them. Edward and Naveen helped them heft Gaston out of the pool and laid him down on the grass nearby. He coughed and heaved, bringing himself to sit up slowly, rubbing at his face. He examined his cut hands through bleary eyes and shook his head.

"What the fuck happened?"

"You were pretty drunk, weren't ya?" Naveen crossed his arms.

"I'm afraid it's time for you to leave, bro." Edward added.

"What? Why?" He seemed to be taking in everyone's glares and injuries for the first time. "God, what did I do?"

As his flock of bimbos fell all over him, cooing and trilling, he continued to gaze around. When his eyes met Aurora's, he saw tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked down, shaking.

His expression twisted as the realization hit him. "Oh..."

"You should leave." Phillip said flatly.

Gaston gazed up at him for a moment. Then, he nodded numbly and slowly climbed to his feet. Everyone watched anxiously as he hurried through the gate to the courtyard, trailed by his blond entourage. They waited rigidly after hearing his car start up round front, but didn't relax until they heard the engine roar in the distance. Everyone sighed audibly and in unison.

Aurora gazed toward Phillip to find that he was staring at her. He walked over and kneeled down next to her. She shook her head at him, new tears falling.

"Where were you?" She asked with a trembling lip.

"It's hard to explain..."

"Phil? Sweetie, I thought you were coming back upstairs?" A girl spoke from behind Phillip.

He grimaced while Aurora stared up at the girl. _Vanessa. That's who else was missing. _Aurora glared at Phillip.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?" She hissed.

His eyes widened. "No... Aurora, it isn't like that."

He reached for her, but she leaned away, her face twisting with barely controlled fury.

"Then what's it like?" She snarled.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Phil!"

He turned and glared at her. "Go away!"

She gasped, looking at Aurora as if to be sure she was watching. "Is this how you treat all your girlfriends?"

Charming stepped between them. "I think it's time for you to leave too, Vanessa."

She scoffed. "Fine." She smirked at Aurora before strolling out through the gate.

Aurora glanced between Charming and Phillip, looking totally lost. "What is going on?"

Phillip held out one hand. "Will you come inside with me so we can have that talk."

Aurora was so tired, she didn't want to argue. She grabbed his hand and let him help her up. He led her inside quickly. When she turned over her shoulder, she saw that Snow and Cindy were already in the arms of their own romantic interests.

_Were they even worried at all? _

When they were inside, Aurora saw that it was 1:51.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES!**

**HOLY SHIT. This took FOREVER. The second part of the party will NOT be taking this long.**

**Thank you to all my followers and everyone who's favorited for sticking through this mess! ^.^**

**Also, what are everyone's thoughts on singing? **


	5. Author's Note AGAIN

**Been working on the characters for the other schools... It's going interestingly...**

**This story might end up being a crossover with all kinds of shit.**

**FUN!**

**Next chapter will hopefully be up by Friday...?**

**And the chapter after that should be showing us the other schools and their students.**

**So...yeah.**


	6. Somebody That I Used to Know

Hercules groaned as he gripped his mangled arm with the unharmed one, cradling it against his chest. Meg was kneeling next to him.

"Someone call an ambulance!" She snapped suddenly.

"No!" Repunzal cried as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

Everyone stared at her. She ducked her head sheepishly, then looked at Meg.

"I mean... I can help. Give me two minutes?"

Meg looked skeptical, to put it kindly. "You want us to leave you alone with him?"

"Well...yeah." Repunzal looked down.

"And what would you do? Cast some kind of healing spell?" A cold smirk played on Meg's lips.

Repunzal winced, then glared back up at Meg. "Look, do you want to explain this to his dad? The guy's a policeman; When he finds out that alcohol was involved in any way, we'll all be screwed. My own mother doesn't even know I'm here."

Meg's eyebrows popped up. "Why should I trust you?"

Repunzal sighed and threw up her hands. "Because it'll save you a lot of trouble."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Then someone spoke up as they fought their way to the front of the crowd. "Just let her help, Meg."

Meg glared at Flynn. He gave her a reassuring look and she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Fine." She looked at Repunzal. "Do the...whatever...it is." Meg stood, stopping to look down at Hercules in doubt. Then she shook her head and started walking away, the crowd following. A few curious stragglers lingered and eyed Repunzal. She waved them away with Flynn's help. He turned to give her a grin and a thumbs-up before running off. She waited till she heard the porch door shut before she turned to Hercules.

She sighed as she kneeled next to him. _No turning back... Mother would kill me... _She leaned forward, gripping the end of her braid and touching it to his arm. He was in too much pain to tell what was happening; Consciousness was hard for him to grasp. She took one more deep breath before singing:

_Flower, gleam and glow..._

_Let your power shine... _

_Make the clock reverse... _

_Bring back what once was mine... _

_What once was mine..._

A golden glow flowed from her gleaming hair and crept over Hercules's arm...

Flynn had pulled the curtains over the porch door, much to Meg's indignation. His reasoning was that Repunzal must've wanted to be alone for a good reason. Meg raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't a little...curious?" She smirked.

He shook his head. "Nope."

Meanwhile, Esmeralda was fixing an ice pack for Pheobus. She was wrapping up the ice when a golden glow caught her eye. She turned to the window to see the ghostly figure of a girl sitting out in the grass in the backyard.

"What the...?" She took a step toward the window, her gaze fixed on the glistening figure.

"Esme...?" She heard Pheobus call from the living room. She turned toward where he was laying on a sofa. She cast a glance back at the window, but the figure had disappeared. She frowned as she went to tend to Pheobus.

"Kida, don't try to walk on it!" Milo almost shrieked.

Kida rolled her eyes and hopped up to her feet. Milo cringed and threw up his hands to cover his eyes. She laughed at him and gripped his hands with her own, lowering then. He squinted at her ankle before his eyes shot open. She was completely unharmed.

"What? How...?"

"I told you I would live." She winked.

"But... You couldn't move ten minutes ago! Did-did you work some kinda magic while I was in the bathroom or something?!"

She chuckled and leaned down to kiss him, making him relax. When she pulled away, he gawked up at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She grinned.

After another moment of shock, Milo smiled back. When he heard the porch door open, he turned to look in that direction. Kida followed his gaze to see Hercules smiling around the room with Repunzal behind him. She was closing the door when he spoke.

"Any one wanna tell me what happened?"

Everyone was gawking at his once crumpled arm, which was now completely unharmed. It was like he'd never been hurt. Meg stared up at him.

"You... You're okay!"

"Well...yeah." Hercules looked confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not really."

"We were pretty sure your arm was broken, bro. Glad to see Repunzal stepped in..." Flynn sent a smile toward the tiny blond, who was avoiding Meg's scrutinous gaze.

Hercules suddenly looked serious. "Where's Gaston? Is Aurora okay?"

"We got him to leave a while ago. As for Aurora, I dunno. I think Phillip got her to safety." Meg sighed, her gaze lingering on Hercules's arm.

He took a step toward her and grinned. "Were you worried about me?"

She smirked and gave him a little push, avoiding the enigmatic arm. "Nah. You're a big boy, ya' know."

He laughed and hugged her.

Aurora had let Phillip lead her upstairs to his room, where she fixed herself up in the adjoining bathroom. After scrubbing her face completely clean of all her makeup and Gaston's blood, she adjusted her dress and hair. Then she pulled off her shoes and sulked back to the bedroom, setting the heels by the bed before taking a seat on it. Phillip was sitting at his desk at the wall in front of the bed, waiting for her to speak. She stared at him for a long moment before sighing. She crossed her arms, ignoring her queasy stomach.

"Okay. What gives?"

He shrugged. "Right before you got attacked, Vanessa spilled her drink on my shirt. When I came up here to change, Vanessa followed me and closed the door. She was acting...weird. And she wouldn't let me leave; I didn't want to get physical with her. Then Charlie came in and she went all psycho and attacked him. We both had to fight her off before we got to the backyard..."

"Ugh." Aurora shook her head. _Slut. She knows I like Phillip! She's just pissed I kicked her off the cheer team last year... But it isn't my fault she came to a game drunk! _Aurora brought herself out of her thoughts and frowned at Phillip. "Didn't she come here with Gaston?" She remembered Vanessa being obsessed with him for a while.

"Yeah... I think he was drunk for a while before he went after you. Apparently he was saying some...stuff. And she got really upset so..." He shrugged. "I guess she came and found me."

"Wow." She shook her head again. _That explains a lot... Ugh. SLUT._ She sighed and rubbed her hand over her sore eyes. When she looked up, he was staring at her with those puppy eyes. She took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter, pressing her palms against her skirt. "So...what did you want to talk about?"

He leaned forward so his forarms rested on his thighs and his suddenly shaky hands hung between his knees. "Um..." He kept trying to look at her, but found he couldn't. "I...like you. A lot."

"Oh."

He finally looked at her. Her expression was unreadable, but she was looking him in the eye. He decided he could return the favor.

"Yeah..." He didn't drop his gaze.

She took a deep breath and crossed her arms again, slouching as if in release. After a moment, she just sighed, shaking her head as she hunched over. She curled her fingers into her hair, shaking. Her stomach was doing somersaults.

"What is it?" He asked, alarmed.

She kept shaking her head. "It's just..." She couldn't finish.

"Yeah?"

She looked back up at him, met with his puppy eyes. He looked so sad and worried... Worried about her? She sighed. Why couldn't she think of what to say? Why was this so hard? He was waiting so patiently, and seemed ashamed of himself for distressing her. He was so sweet... Why couldn't she say anything? Why was she even resisting...?

It finally hit her. The full realization overwhelmed her, made her stomach churn in finality. Her breath caught in her throat and she stared blankly at him, making him raise his eyebrows in confusion. All of her doubts culminated into one, solemn answer. It was strangely satisfying.

"You're too good for me." Her jaw felt tight.

He scoffed and ran a hand through his hair, which needed to be cut. "You can't honestly believe that."

She nodded slowly, her mouth pinched. "I do."

He shook his head and sat up, laughing bitterly. "So you've been leading me on this whole time? Everything over summer was fake?"

When she didn't answer, he continued, gaining volume.

"Are you really that self-centered?"

She sat up, staring at him. "What?"

He stood up and started pacing. "Did you just need to know if you could get me to like you? Was it just some weird girly need to make sure you were as hot as everyone tells you, and you can have control over any guy you wanted? Some need for power?"

"Phillip!"

"It wasn't that much of a conquest you know. I always liked you. And then you were flirting with me, and you seemed to be trying pretty hard. I thought that meant you really cared!"

She stood up suddenly, pulling on her shoes. "If you honestly believe that this was all just a game, then you're an idiot! Just like every other guy who's ever followed me around like some sad dog! I can't believe I treated you so kindly!" She started to storm out, but when she gripped the doorknob, she felt his hand on her shoulder. It was surprisingly gentle.

"If this wasn't a game, then what was it?" He sounded truly upset.

She pretended not to care, shaking her head at him. "I don't even know!"

She jerked out of his grip and ran downstairs. He didn't follow her.

She stormed through the house till she found Cindy and Snow, who were outside with Ferdinand and Charming on the patio. Snow was the first to see her, and the little raven-haired girl cheered in relief, "Rorie!"

The group turned toward her with a smile, but as she grew closer and her expression clearer, their faces fell into worry and fear. Cindy stepped toward her.

"Rorie? What's wrong?"

"Get everyone together. We have to go." Aurora spoke harshly, hugging herself. It was surprisingly cold for a September evening... Or, rather, a September morning.

"What? Why?" Cindy's eyes grew wide. Meanwhile, Ariel and Jasmine had been close enough to hear and were joining the group.

"What's going on?" Ariel asked.

When Snow shrugged, Jasmine turned to Aurora.

"What happened?" She demanded.

Aurora shook her head, avoiding their faces. She glanced toward the gate to the driveway. "I don't want to talk about it now. Can we just go?" Her lip trembled.

Jasmine shook her head as the girls started to crowd her. Ferdinand and Charming were watching from behind them. Aurora suddenly felt like she was under a spotlight. Her face flushed and her eyes stung. She was looking everwhere but at the little cluster of people currently advancing on her.

"Cindy, just tell us what happened." Cindy was trying to sound comforting, but the words were warped in Aurora's ears. The soothing tone sounded commanding.

"Let us help you." Jasmine's controlled and even tone hardly sounded caring so much as bored, and her dark eyes bore into Aurora's moist cheeks. Aurora reached up a hand self-consciously, wiping the tears. When had she started crying?

_They're trying to control you... They always try to control you... Why don't they just leave? Don't they know how to listen? _Her eyes grew wild as they darted between the girls and the gate. Snow was reaching for her.

"Rorie..."

"Stop!" Aurora screeched, jumping back as if Snow's hand was hot steel. "Just stop it!"

Snow reared back in shock, her chocolate eyes like dinner plates. "Rorie?"

"What's the matter?!" Ariel looked scared.

"Aurora, just tell us what happened. Okay?" Jasmine spoke carefully.

"God! Would you just stop telling me what to do?! You are always so nosy!" Aurora exploded.

Now Jasmine and Cindy looked as shocked as Snow did. Ariel was hurrying away to find Charlotte. Cindy smiled uneasily as the whole backyard was now focused on them. She feigned casualness as she stepped toward her rigid friend.

"Rorie, we're just trying to help you..."

"Well, stop! Why can't we just leave when I say I want to leave! You all act like you care, but you never even listen!"

Cindy froze while Jasmine stepped forward, her face cold. Ariel was coming back with Charlotte and Naveen and, for whatever reason, Esmeralda and a sour-faced Pheobus. Charlotte went to Snow, who looked close to tears. Aurora was suddenly disgusted; Snow had always been _so _sensitive.

"We've always been there for you, Rorie. Calm down." Jasmine spoke plainly.

Aurora sneered. "Oh, and you were so there for me, weren't you! All of you!"

"What?" Ariel cried.

"You all ditched me for your little boyfriends! At a time when I really needed you!"

"Aurora, the guys were injured! And we thought you were safe with Phillip!" Cindy seemed close to tears.

"You didn't care about me!" Aurora screamed. "No one really cares about me!"

"Oh, now Rorie, you know that that is not true. Now come on inside and we'll all talk in private..." Charlotte started to reach for her arm.

Aurora jerked back again, her mouth twisting in fury. "Fuck you! I don't want to talk to you people! I want to go home!" She took off for the gate with Charlotte, Cindy, and Charming trailing her.

"Aurora! Where are you going?!" Charlotte screeched.

"You're our ride!" Cindy cried in frustration.

"Find your own fucking ride home! Leave me alone!" Aurora disappeared through the gate and ran down the driveway to her car.

The last thing she heard was Charlotte screeching from the gate, choking back her own tears and hiding them with anger.

"Fine! We've only been best friends since kindergarten, but whatever! I'm glad it's over! Go ahead and keep that kitten shirt! It's too big for me any way, you cow!"

After watching Aurora slam her car door shut and take off, Charlotte turned to Naveen, who had rushed over to comfort her. Charlotte hugged him and sobbed:

"I gave her that shirt for Christmas freshman year! I bought it too big on purpose, so she could keep it forever!" She shoved her violently shaking frame into him, her sobs disappearing into his shirt. Her makeup was getting everywhere, but he didn't stop her.

Charles was holding Cindy, comforting her. "Don't worry, babe. I can give you a ride home."

Ferdinand was holding a hysterical Snow, murmuring in soft German. Eric and Ariel were chatting in confusion. Jasmine stood back with a set jaw and hard expression, Aladdin standing awkwardly next to her. After a long moment of deep breathing, she gripped his hand and dragged him inside. They brushed past Esmeralda and Pheobus, who were just as shocked as everyone else.

"Wow..." Esmeralda whispered.

"You said it..." Pheobus muttered.

As Cindy, Charlotte, Charles and Naveen rejoined the group, Ariel questioned the girls, somehow holding back tears.

"Did she really leave?"

While Cindy nodded, Charlotte vocalized, or hissed, "Yes."

Ariel shook her head. "You guys... All of our stuff is at her house..."

Cindy suddenly started laughing. When everyone stared at her, she shook her head, her shoulders shaking. "Let's just deal with that later. She needs time to breathe." She looked up at Charming. "Someone should go talk to Phillip."

He nodded and walked into the house, leaving Cindy to hold herself in the cold. She caught Esmeralda's sympathetic gaze and gave her a sad smile and a short wave. Esmeralda nodded quickly and lead Pheobus into the house. They met Pocahontas, John, Milo and Kida in the living room. Pocahontas was looking at them in alarm.

"What time is it?" She demanded.

"Uh..." Pheobus checked his watch. "2:15."

"Shit! I should have been home like, an hour ago!"

"Just tell your dad you're sleeping at Nakoma's house." Kida said. "Or, actually mine. You're welcome to, and your dad knows mine but they don't have each other's numbers."

"Oh, Kida, thank you!" Pocahontas started dialing her dad's number. John looked at her deviously.

"You know... My parents will be out all night." He winked.

She smirked. "Business trip?"

He nodded. "They'll be gone till tomorrow night."

She grinned. "Awesome." She hurried outside to call her dad in peace. Kida followed her for back-up. Pheobus shook his head at John.

"You sly fucker." Pheobus chuckled. John joined in the laughter and gave Pheobus a push. Milo smirked awkwardly.

"Whatever, asshole. Hey, wanna get to that game again?" John pointed to where Hercules was trying to get Merida, Jim, Meg and Repunzal to dance to a Britney Spears song. Pheobus laughed. "Sure. We should find Flynn first, though. He's seriously funny when he plays." Pheobus looked at Milo. "You wanna play, too, dude?"

Milo looked surprised, then smiled uneasily. "No thanks. I'm fine watching."

John chuckled and stood up. "Okay, man." Then he and Pheobus walked away.

Esmeralda smirked. "Well, I'm gonna play." She headed over to Hercules and they started the song, Esmeralda throwing playful glances Meg's way until the reluctant brunette finally jumped in. She was followed by Repunzal and then Merida. Jim shook his head, smirking and joining Milo on the couch.

"Interesting people at our school, huh?" Jim asked him.

Milo nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"You weren't here last year huh?"

"Oh, uh, no. I was at Atlantis High before this year."

Jim's eyebrows shot up. "Wow. That's a pretty smart school."

"Yeah..."

"Why'd you leave?"

"Uh... I just wanted to go to a regular place for my senior year. A less stuffy place, ya' know?"

"Mm. You're a senior?"

"Yeah."

Jim smirked. "You don't look like a senior."

"I skipped two grades." Milo said sheepishly, looking down.

"Ah. I see." Jim said, as if a suspicion had been proven correct. "So you got beat up a lot at your old school, huh?"

Milo stared at him. Jim smiled and held up a hand.

"You don't have to tell me."

"But how did you know?" Milo asked.

"You're crazy-smart and kinda skittish. Also, it's the way you're dressed and your awkward demeanor."

"Oh." Milo looked down again.

"It's okay. You've turned out better than I have."

Milo looked back up at him. "Did you get beat up, too?"

Jim nodded. "In grade school. But in junior high, I changed myself up a bit. Now no one messes with me."

"Do you think I should do that?"

"Nah." Jim pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "People in this place are more accepting. You've found a good group. And, you've got a girl who likes you just the way you are." Jim smiled. "You're good."

Milo blushed and smiled back. "What grade are you in, Jim?"

"I'm a sophomore."

"You're pretty wise for a sophomore."

Jim smirked as he smoked. Then Kida plopped down onto the couch next to Milo and cuddled into his side, provoking him to wrap an arm around her. Jim turned away and watched Merida dance, sharing a smile with her when she caught him staring.

Pocahontas went to get some tea from the kitchen, where Flynn had just found Aladdin sitting with Jasmine, who was speaking rapidly and quietly while Aladdin nodded along. She seemed really angry. When she saw Flynn walking toward them, she fell silent and glared at him. Aladdin followed her gaze and smiled at his friend.

"Hey, dude."

"Hey... Do you guys know where Aurora went?"

"She went home." Jasmine's tone was harsh.

Flynn looked at her. "Oh."

"Yeah. Why would you want to talk to her?" Jasmine narrowed her eyes.

"Just to um... I dunno... Comfort her, maybe?... Or something..." Flynn spoke slowly and nervously.

"If she needed comforting, I would be giving her that right now, wouldn't I?" Her tone was venemous.

Flynn stared at her blankly. "Um..."

While Aladdin placed a comforting hand on her arm and murmured something to her, Flynn felt another hand clap on his shoulder. He turned to face John and Pheobus.

"Dude, you wanna get back to the game?" John gestured to the living room.

"Oh, uh... Sure." Flynn smiled a little too easily before following them out of the kitchen.

Jasmine sighed and turned to Aladdin. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be bitchy..."

"No, no, no." He spoke hurriedly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and scooted closer to her. "You're just tired and angry. I understand. When I have an arguement with one of the guys, I'm a wreck, too."

She smiled weakly. "You can go play with them, if you want."

He shook his head. "I'm hear to listen as long as you want me to."

She felt her heart melt, and her smile became a genuine grin that refused to leave. "I think I'm done talking."

"You sure?"

She laughed. "Yes. Now come on. Let's go join in."

Repunzal and Merida were pretty close to getting the dance moves to "Single Ladies" down. When Repunzal felt someone bump into her, she turned to see Flynn. She gave him a shy smile. He responded with a feline grin and she giggled, turning back around. He smirked while he and his friends joined in the dance with no shame. Charlotte and Naveen were cackling from the sidelines.

Tiana was just slipping in through the front door. She'd promised Charlotte she would drop in. She smiled when she saw her friend watching some weird dance going on. Tiana started walking over when she heard two girls trill her name from the kitchen. She turned to wave at Adella and Andrina, but continued to move forward. She didn't turn around to stop in time.

Naveen had been pretending to dance along when he turned and elbowed Tiana in the nose, then dumped his beer all over her. She groaned and gripped her nose, then stared down at her drenched t-shirt. When she looked up, he was staring at her chest. She groaned again and turned to walk away, but Charlotte grabbed her arm.

"Tia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine... I think I'm gonna head home, though..."

"Oh, but you just got here!" Charlotte whined.

"Yeah and now I've got a banged-up nose and I smell like beer. Hope my mom won't notice..."

"You could sleep over at my place tonight! You're mom won't care and my parents definitely won't! Pleeeeeease?"

Tiana sighed. "I guess."

"Yay!" Charlotte squealed and hugged Tiana. Then she turned and gestured to the idiot who'd spilled his drink on her. "Tia, this is Naveen! He's my boyfriend!"

Tiana stared up at him blankly. He gave her a dashing grin, dimples and all. Then he took her hand and laid a gentle but brazen kiss on the back of it.

"Pleased to meet you, Diana."

She wrenched her hand back and gave him a firm look. "It's Tiana." She looked more pleasantly toward Charlotte. "Since when do you two go out?"

"Why, just tonight! Oh, aren't I lucky?" Charlotte stared dreamily up at Naveen, who smiled charmingly back at her. She giggled and hugged him around his waist. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up and spinning her. While Charlotte squealed and cackled, Tiana rolled her eyes.

_Great. _ She thought, turning her attention to the dance game. _Now I'll be the third wheel..._ "I'm gonna go clean myself up a bit..."

"Okay, Tia!" Charlotte shrieked with laughter as Tiana headed for the bathroom.

Charles came back outside with a tired look. He spoke to Ferdinand as he approached the group.

"Will uncle be okay with you staying here tonight?"

"You know my dad won't care." Ferdinand smirked. Then he grew more serious. "Is Phillip in that bad of shape?"

"Yeah."

"Did he tell you what happened?" Snow chirped. Her voice was tired and her eyes were red from crying.

Charlie nodded. "But I'll have to explain later. It's complicated, and I have to get back to him..." He turned to Cindy. "What time should I get you home?"

"We should leave at five. I usually get up at six to start working."

"Alright." He looked apologetic before leaning down to give her a quick kiss. Then he hurried back to the house.

Edward and Giselle were joining the group when Cindy turned to Snow. "What time are you going home?"

"Um... I was gonna stay at Rorie's again tonight."

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah... If I wake my stepmom up trying to sneak in, she'll get mad and probably not let me go to another party ever again!"

"You can stay at my place." Giselle offered.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's no problem." Giselle smiled.

"Thank you so much!" Snow hugged the redhead, who laughed and hugged her back.

Edward grinned. "Aw, my girlfriend's so sweet."

"Oh, really?" Giselle smirked up at him while Snow skipped back to Ferdinand's side. "What else do you like about her?"

"She's beautiful and kind and lovely and graceful. Also, quite a gymnast." He winked.

Giselle giggled and stood on her tiptoes. Edward took the hint and leaned down to kiss her. Snow snuggled into Ferdinand's side and he held her close. By the pool, John, Pocahontas, Ariel, and Eric were passing around a blunt. Cindy inwardly sighed and turned her gaze up to Phillip's bedroom window. She silently wished that he was there with her, instead of having to comfort his friend.

_Damn it, Aurora. _Cindy fumed. Then, she whirled back around to the spot where Ariel was sitting. _Since when does she smoke?!_

Meg, Jasmine and Esmeralda were cackling at the crowd that was chaotically moving to a Katy Perry song. Meg didn't even think about how bad this game's songs were; she was having too much fun and Hercules was way too interesting to watch. Esmeralda and Jasmine were chatting and giggling about something, and Flynn was trying to chat up that perky blond. At some point, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell had joined in the tumult while Wendy sat by silently and pouted.

Tiana sat near Jim, Milo and Merida. She would sometimes send a glare at Naveen when she caught him looking at her. He would just grin and continue to fool around with Charlotte, who was getting more and more drunk. Tiana would roll her eyes and turn her attention back to the dancing. Phillip and Charming came back downstairs eventually, and Phillip sat with Tiana to plan their first student council meeting. Phillip was senior class president and Tiana was his vice-president. Charming went outside to join Cindy, Ferdinand, Snow, Giselle and Edward on the patio.

Ariel and Eric had come inside to join the dancing. Jasmine was trying in vain to scold Ariel, who was high off her ass. Pocahontas and John were in the kitchen with Nakoma and Thomas. Aladdin and Jasmine soon joined them; Jasmine was totally steamed over Ariel. What was up with her friends tonight? The group was added on to by Esmeralda, Pheobus, Meg and Hercules. Jim and Merida were sharing a cigarette by the kitchen counter.

It was only when a pair of headlights shown through the front room windows that everyone fell silent. Then the front door crashed open and Phillip's dad came tumbling in, a robust little white-haired man, accompanied by Aurora's dad, a tall, lean man with jet-black hair. They were laughing uproariously, and completely drunk. When they recognized a room full of teenagers in a similar state, they froze. Both sides looked equally guilty and terrified.

Phillip's dad straightened his jacket and met the eyes of his pale son. Then he started laughing again, making Phillip frown in confusion. Everyone stared at the two giggling, intoxicated adults uneasily. Somehow, Phillip's dad pulled himself together and said through his chuckles, "Oh, don't stop the party on our account! The night's still young! Stephen and I'll be in the parlor, son." He clapped Phillip on the shoulder cheerfully as he and Aurora's father headed to the stairs, stumbling up the steps in falling into another fit of roaring laughter. Everyone stared at Phillip and he stared back. After a moment, the whole room broke out in laughter. When it quieted down, Flynn spoke up.

"You're dad's pretty cool, man."

Phillip nodded as Ferdinand started the music back up, and everyone got back to dancing either with the game or just to what played overhead. Phillip saw Tiana sitting alone and walked over to her.

"You wanna dance?"

She raised an eyebrow. "With you?"

"Well, not romantically or anything..."

"I know."

He laughed. "Then what's the problem?"

She smirked. "You are a notoriously bad dancer."

He gasped and stepped back, clutching his chest. "How dare you!"

"Me and everyone else who's ever witnessed it!" She exclaimed, laughing.

"Well, I'll make you look pretty great out there."

She stared up at him, and he gave her a look that was supposed to be coersive. She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Alright..." She followed him out to the dance floor. After about a minute of dancing, she started laughing. He smirked at her and yelled over the music: "Hey, I'm doing better than Ariel and Eric!"

Charlotte squeezed Naveen tightly around his waist and squealed. "Ooh, Tia and Phil are sooooo cute! They should totally date!"

"You know what we should do?" He grinned, holding her tighter in return.

She tried to look up at him from under her heavy eyelids. "What?"

He leaned down and spoke softly in her ear, "Go to bed."

Her eyes shot open in excitement. "Oh! I love that! Let's do that!"

He lifted her up bridal-style and carried her upstairs to the guest room, while she giggled the whole way up.

Giselle and Snow were getting ready to leave when Ariel gripped Giselle's arm. Giselle met Ariel's eyes to see how dilated her pupils were.

"Where you guys goin'?" Ariel demanded quickly.

"Snow's sleeping at my place tonight." Giselle explained.

"Oh! Can I tell my dad I'm with you guys? He won't call your parents, I swear!"

Giselle laughed. "Sure, Ariel."

"Oh! Thank you!" Ariel gave her a clumsy hug before letting Eric pull her back to the dance floor.

As her sisters passed her, Adella asked, "You're not coming home, sis?"

"Nah. Don't worry about me though!" Ariel threw herself back into the dance, with Eric all over her. Her sisters rolled their eyes and headed out to their car.

Cindy and Charles had been walking hand-in-hand around the courtyard. When it was 4:55, she ran inside and washed off all of her makeup. When she came back out and hopped into his car, he stared at her. She looked down, running a hand through her hair. Then she peered up at him through her dark eyelashes.

"What is it?"

He grinned and started the car up. "You shouldn't wear make up. You look great without it."

She smiled and gripped his free hand as he drove out, holding on for the whole ride home. When they arrived at her house, he followed her to the tree and gave her a lift to the lowest limb. She smiled down at him.

"See you..." She whispered.

"See you." He murmured back.

He watched her climb safely to her window, and then inside pretty much silently. She waved down to him before carefully shutting her window. He grinned during the whole ride back to Phillip's house.

Cindy changed into her most comfy set of PJ's and took the chair away from her door. Then she climbed into her tiny bed and snuggled under the quilt and fell into a satisfying 45-minute sleep. She was awakened by the click of a key in the lock outside her door, and then her alarm a few seconds later. She hopped up and turned off the alarm, then changed quickly into her brown cargos and a pale green t-shirt. As she tied up her hair, she sighed dreamily, then mentally prepared herself for the day ahead.

Everyone was clearing out now, slowly but surely. Phillip had gotten drunk over the last hour and could barely walk. Tiana was helping him up to his room while he giggled and stumbled, making it as difficult as possible for her. She tried not to sigh. _Wow, Phil... You must be depressed... _They somehow made it to his room, and as she was laying him on his bed, his arm around her shoulder seemed locked in place, and he dragged her down on top of him. As he giggled, she smirked and blushed, trying to get up. But he wouldn't let her; His free hand reached up and curled around her shoulder, stroking her collarbone with his thumb.

She looked down at him, meeting his intense gaze. He pulled his head up a little and brushed his lips against hers. She felt her breath catch as she froze, her cheeks burning. She had no idea what to do. He pulled back, looking at her. Her face was completely blank. He pushed up again, kissing her fully now, closing his eyes as though content. After a moment, she closed her eyes too. And she kissed him back.

It wasn't a long kiss. But if was deep and sweet. He hardly tasted like beer at all. After a moment, she pulled back and looked down at him. His eyelids were all but shut as he tried to gaze up at her. She smiled sadly, remembering how drunk he was.

"You need to sleep."

He seemed to nod, making a weird noise in his throat as he allowed her to slip out of his grip. He rolled over so that his face disappeared into his pillows. She pulled his comforter over him and started to walk out. She stopped for a moment in the doorway, looking at him. He was out cold.

She shook her head, stepping out into the hall. She slowly closed his door. As she turned to head down the stairs, a door ahead of her opened and Naveen stepped out, pulling on his shirt. She rolled her eyes, then felt herself freeze. She pointed to the room behind him.

"Is Lottie in there?"

He smirked. "Yup."

Tiana groaned and clapped her hand to her forehead. After a moment, she looked back up at him. "Can you give her a ride home?"

He nodded.

She started down the stairs, then turned back to see he hadn't moved. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You take good care of her."

"Of course." He said smugly.

She rolled her eyes again and left. He watched her go before looking downstairs. Ferdinand and Charming had each fallen asleep on a sofa. Naveen smirked as he went back to the guest room.

Ariel awoke in Eric's bed around twelve. The sun streamed over her through the bay window and the only thing covering her was a thin cotton sheet. She turned over and sat up, holding the sheet up around her breasts. She blinked lazily until she found Eric's sleeping form next to her. She smiled and snuggled up next to him. He was pleasantly awakened, and he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her. She obligingly pulled herself up and on top of him so that they were chest-to-chest. They shared a deep kiss, Eric making a soft noise. She smiled against his lips and sat up, straddling him. She let the sheet fall away from her, her slim frame now completely exposed.

"What time are your parents home?" She smirked.

He grinned. "Not till five."

"Mmm..." She gripped him by his hair and pulled him up for a passionate kiss.

Giselle and Snow were eating breakfast when Edward showed up. He tapped a fist against the kitchen doorway.

"Knock knock!"

"Hey, babe!" Giselle hopped up and ran over to him, jumping into his arms. He spun her around and kissed her, then lowered her back to the tiles.

"Hey! Where are your folks?"

"They went to breakfast. I was about to walk Snow home. She lives closeby."

"Ah... I'll wait in your room. See ya', Snow!"

Snow waved as he disappeared down the hall. She sent Giselle a smirk as she washed her dishes.

Jasmine stared at Aladdin's contact in her phone, smiling absently. _Should I text him? No, I'll seem needy... But I miss him! _She groaned and set her phone down, deciding to go downstairs for some breakfast. After settling for some toast and eating it at a leisurely pace, she went back up to her room and checked her phone. She squealed when she saw that he had texted her.

Merida was playing soccer with her dad and her brothers when her mom ran out from the house, calling to her:

"Merida! Repunzal's calling for you on the landline!"

Merida rushed inside and picked it up. "Yes?"

"My mom's still on her business trip. Wanna meet me at the mall?"

"Mum! Can I go to the mall!"

"Yes!"

"On my way, Allie."

Flynn, Pheobus and Aladdin were roaming the mall, (Pheobus being the only one actually paying for things), when Flynn saw the perky green-eyed blond sitting alone in the food court.

"Be right back, guys." Flynn snuck over to her table and took the seat across from her. She stared at him for a second, then smiled.

"Oh, hi."

"Hello there." He grinned. "Couldn't help but notice you sitting all alone."

"Just waiting for a friend."

"Oh. Do you want me to leave?"

"No, no. You can stay. If you want."

"Well, why wouldn't I?"

She giggled at him and glanced around.

"So where are you from?" He asked.

"Oh, I've always lived around here. I've just always been homeschooled before now."

"Oh."

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"My mom." She said vaguely, looking at her nails.

"Ah. I see."

"Yup. Have you always lived around here?"

"Yup. Pretty much my whole life. I know my way around."

She laughed quietly.

"So...what's your name?"

"Repunzal."

"Weird name."

She giggled. "I know. I think it's a type of lettuce..."

"Oh, wow..." He laughed with her.

"Yeah... What's your name?"

"Flynn. Flynn Rider." He said suavely.

"Wow. Cool name!"

"Why thank you." He grinned.

She giggled again, biting her lip.

"Ahem."

They both looked up at Merida. Neither of them had noticed her appearance. She was smirking at them.

"Hiya." She saluted lazily.

"Hey..." Flynn looked from her to Repunzal. "I'll leave you guys alone. I think my friends are getting impatient any way." He stood up, waving at Repunzal. "See you around."

"See you." She waved back more eagerly.

He slunk away, Merida taking his seat. Merida looked at Repunzal in amusement. "I thought ya' di'n't like bad boys?"

"I don't..." Repunzal looked confused.

"Well, word is that he's a womanizer and a thief."

"What?!" Repunzal's eyes grew wide.

Merida shrugged. "I'm just saying watch out..."

John dropped Pocahontas off at her place with a quick kiss. As he drove away, she saw Mulan and Nakoma waiting on the front porch. She hurried up to them.

"Hey guys." She quickly unlocked the front door, letting them in. Her dad was at work. She turned to Mulan. "What happened to you last night? I didn't see you after the whole thing with Gaston."

"I drove Shang home. He was in bad shape, but his dad said he's sprung back from worse."

"Okay..."

"How's John?" Nakoma teased.

Pocahontas rolled her eyes and started making some tea. "He's fine."

"Uh-oh. Doesn't sound fine. What's up?" Mulan asked.

Pocahontas sighed. "I realized last night... I dunno why I'm dating him! I mean, I know I said I love him, but he can be such a dick sometimes. And then when you made the sex comment..." She gestured to Mulan, then shrugged, groaning. She leaned against the counter of her cramped kitchen. "I dunno... We've been dating for, like, a year now. Isn't it a little late for doubts?"

"Oh, it's never too late!" Nakoma chimed.

Mulan glared at her, then turned a comforting gaze on Pocahontas. "Maybe you guys just need a break."

Pocahontas frowned, crossing her arms. "Try telling John that."

**Thanks to everyone who has faved and followed! And thanks to my reviewers! ^.^**

**However, I would like for reviews to actually hold some critique. Thanks!**

**New characters coming up! And singing! Whooo!**

**Football games and musicals and drama, oh my!**


	7. The Times They Are a Changin

A week passed before Phillip's dad even brought up the party.

"Sorry if Stephen and I interrupted your party, son. But you know what alcohol does to people."

Phillip laughed. "It's fine dad."

"Okay." His dad chuckled, then looked a little more serious. "You know... Stephen tells me that Aurora's been upset lately. She doesn't talk much any more. Or smile."

Phillip sat silently and picked at his dinner. His dad shook his head.

"Whatever happened is none of my business. Or Stephen's, for that matter. But if you hurt that girl, you'd do well to fix it." Then his dad stood and started to leave, stopping in the doorway. "What's the news with Gaston?"

"He's suspended. And he's off the football team indefinitely."

His dad nodded. "Good. He wasn't any good any way." His dad left.

Phillip smirked, shaking his head. He spent a few moments staring at his dinner plate, finding himself unable to eat it. He groaned and put the plate in the fridge, leaving the leftovers out so the night-service could deal with it.

The next day, at school, he saw Aurora sitting alone at lunch. He was sitting with Charming, Cindy, Snow, Ferdinand, Naveen, and Lottie. They were all watching her. When Eric and Ariel joined their table, they started up the conversation.

"So, Phil. When do we start basketball practice?" Eric asked.

"Oh. Uh...two weeks? I think." Phillip said, biting into a french fry.

Eric nodded. "Sounds good. Feel like joining this year, Charlie?"

Charming scoffed dramatically. "No."

"What, we're not good enough for you?" Eric accused playfully.

"Nope." Charming spoke bluntly, but he smiled. "Besides, I'm busy with tennis."

"Oh, _sorry._" Eric held up his hands. Then he looked at Ferdinand. "How about you?"

Ferdinand shrugged. "Who's on it?"

"Me, Phillip, Naveen, Hercules, Kronk, Will Turner, the other Phillip, and _formerly..._" he glared at Charming, "...your cousin."

Ferdinand nodded slowly. "Sure. I'll join. When are try-outs?"

Eric looked at Phillip and shrugged. Phillip finished chewing his fry and swallowed it before answering.

"Uh... October. Two weeks before first game."

Eric's eyebrows shot up. "Weird timing."

Phillip sighed. "I know. It's because the girl's team has try-outs the week before, so they need the gym."

Eric nodded. "I think Pheobus and Aladdin are trying out. And Kronk's trying to talk Kuzko into it, but I've seen Kuzko play for the soccer team, and I doubt his basketball skills are any better."

Ferdinand groaned. "Don't even get me started."

"You play soccer?" Cindy asked Ferdinand.

"Yup. And tennis. I have a lot of free time."

"Too much!" Charming yelled theatrically, making everyone laugh. He looked at Snow. "Take some of that time up, okay?"

She giggled, tightening her arms around one of Ferdinand's. "Okay..."

Phillip stood up. "Be right back."

They watched apprehensively as he made a beeline for Aurora.

"Hey."

Aurora looked up him in surprise. "Hey."

"Can I sit?"

She nodded solemnly and he sat next to her. They sat in silence for a moment, both trying to think of what to say. Phillip spoke first.

"So. What was this whole thing about?"

She sighed, running a hand through her curly hair. He noticed that she hadn't bothered to wear makeup today. She was still beautiful.

"I really do like you, Phillip." She didn't look at him when she spoke.

He turned so that he faced her fully. "Then why can't we go out?"

She scoffed. "Because when I said you were too good for me, I meant it."

He shook his head. "Well I think you're perfect."

She finally looked at him. Her eyes shone, but her mouth was pinched. "You just think that."

"Doesn't that matter at all?"

She shook her head, looking down at the empty table in front of her. He'd noticed that she hadn't been eating. He glanced back at his table, where the group was watching them. He looked back at her hollow face.

"If nothing's happening with us, that's fine. But you should come with me and apologize to the others. They're your friends and they're worried about you."

She glared at him, then over at the table. When she did, they all looked away. She shook her head, turning back to Phillip.

"They aren't my friends."

He shook his head and stepped away. He turned to look down at her. "You sure you won't change your mind?"

She stared up him, looking completely lost. "You deserve better than me."

He wasn't sure that answered his question. He wasn't really sure what the question had been. But he was sure that she was probably right.

He shook his head and walked away. But he didn't stop at his table. He continued over to the tree, where Tiana was talking to Esmeralda about something while the rest of Esmeralda's group cobtinued with their antics. Milo had joined the group, of course. Jim Hawkins sat bearby with Merida and Repunzal.

When Esmeralda noticed Phillip approaching, she pointed him out for Tiana. Tiana turned and smiled easily at him.

"Hey, Phil. What's up?"

"Can I, uh...talk to you?"

"Sure. See you, Esme."

"See you." Esmeralda watched them walk away, then looked at the confused Pheobus next to her. "I hope he's not about to do something stupid..."

"So, what's up, Phil?"

"Did I kiss you that night?"

"What?"

"Aren't you the one who put me to bed?"

"Yes I am. And yes, you did. But why...?"

"Oh, good." Phillip smiled. "I was hoping it was you."

She laughed nervously. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

He remembered the awkwardness and looked down at his feet. Why was he bringing it up? He smiled at her again.

"You wanna go out?"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious! Tia, I really like you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"You're brilliant, athletic, kind, funny, beautiful, and one of my best friends."

She softened visibly. "Really?"

"Yes."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"Of course. You're also a good dancer." He winked playfully.

She shook her head, biting her lip to hold in a laugh. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm truthful."

She laughed, making him smile.

"Come on. At least one date."

She stared up at him, doubtful. He watched eagerly as she shook her head. After a moment, she sighed.

"You know what?"

"What?" He grinned.

"Sure."

"Awesome."

"But!" She held up an index finger. "Nowhere that involves any kind of dancing."

"How does Friday night sound?"

She smirked. "I'll talk to my boss about getting off work. Okay?"

"Okay!" He quickly hugged her.

She laughed as she hugged him back. "See you then."

"See you at the student council meeting on Thursday." He smiled, walking away.

"We need to get the school newspaper running, by the way!" She called after him.

He waved over his shoulder. She crossed her arms and shook her head, but her smile didn't waver.

"Hey Andy!"

Andy turned to see Merida waving at him. He grinned and headed over to her table, his friends following.

"Hey Merida!"

"Jim, Allie, this is an old friend from middle school: Andy. Andy, this is Jim Hawkins, and...actually, I think you've met Repunzal before."

"Once or twice, I think. Nice to see you. And hey, Jim." Andy waved awkwardly. "These are my buddies: Christopher Robin, Taran and Arthur."

"Hiya!" Merida waved at the quiet group. She looked back at Andy. "I see you didn't move on to the high school."

"Nah. After you left, I didn't have any friends over there. Then I met these guys, and they said they were coming here, so...yeah."

"Cool. You guys have anywhere to sit?"

"We were actually looking for our friends..."

Andy was cut off when a little Indian boy with shaggy black hair showed up and asked, "You guys couldn't find the girls?"

"We got sidetracked." Taran motioned toward the people at the table. "Mowgli, this is Merida, a friend of Andy's. And these are her friends, Repunzal and Jim."

"Hi." Mowgli waved.

Repunzal eagerly waved back. "Are you all freshman?"

"Yeah." Arthur spoke up. "We all came from Disney's middle school. The place is so tiny, we all kinda stuck together."

"Except Peter." Christopher Robin interjected. "Social butterfly he may be, but he's kind of a lone wolf."

Repunzal gasped. "You're accent is so freaking cute! I love accents!"

Christopher Robin blushed. "Why thank you..."

Jim laughed and scooted over. "Don't worry, guys. I don't bite. You can sit."

The boys looked at Andy, who shrugged.

"Lunch is an hour long. The girls will find us."

They all nodded and squeezed in.

"So! How you liking it here so far?" Merida asked.

Taran shrugged, his too-large sweatshirt falling off one shoulder. "It seems okay. Pretty chill. Eilwony's loving it."

"Oh! She's a sweet girl. Really smart, too. She's in my chemistry class." Repunzal grinned. "We're both so excited for cheer try-outs!"

Merida rolled her eyes as her blond friend squealed. Then, Repunzal pointed over Andy's head. "There she is!"

Merida looked up to see a pretty but plain-looking girl with blond hair walking up to them, with two other girls accompanying her. On her left, there was a dainty girl with glossy blond waves of hair draped over her shoulders, pulled away from her face with a black headband. She wore a cutesy blue dress with black flats. On the right side, a girl with pale brown hair pulled into low pigtails was walking solemnly. She was dressed casually, kind of like a skater, and she had sad eyes.

The three girls reached the table, and the one in the middle grinned while the other two looked on; the brunette shyly and the blond curiously.

"Hey guys. Who have you found now to bother?" The leading girl, who Merida assumed was Eilonwy, teased the boys.

Andy rolled his eyes at her playfully. "El, this is my buddy Merida, and her friends, Jim and Repunzal..."

"Oh, I know Allie." She grinned at the perky blond.

Andy looked at Merida and Jim. "Guys, this is Eilonwy, Alice and Penny." He looked up at Eilonwy. "Where's Lilo?"

Eilonwy sighed and shook her head, taking a seat. The two girls followed this action. "We have no idea. She'll find us eventually."

Andy nodded and bit into his apple.

"So. Eilonwy's a cheerleader. What about you two?" Merida looked between Penny and Alice.

Penny shook her head meekly. Alice played with a strand of her hair idly and answered, in a sweet little British accent, "Nah. We're more the artsy types..."

"Ah! So many accents! And I love art! Painting is my favorite past-time, and I have a lot of those." Repunzal jumped in.

Eilonwy laughed. "Well cheerleading's gonna take some of that time away, you know."

"I hope so. I need time out of the house like, desperately."

Merida nodded. "Yeah you do."

Suddenly, a tiny, curvy girl with cinnamon-colored skin and sleek black hair ran up to the table, her deep brown eyes focused. She probably had the cutest nose Merida had ever seen. She wore a cool-colored floral button-up which hung open to reveal a blue tank-top, matching her flip-flops, and she wore little khaki shorts. She was pretty adorable.

"Hey, Lilo!" The freshman group welcomed her cheerfully.

And her name was adorable!

She smiled and took a seat on the end of the table. "Hey guys."

They went through all the introductions again. Merida shared a look with the amused Jim. Their usually remote table was being taken over. But neither of them really seemed to mind.

"Where's Wendy?" Lilo asked.

Alice rolled her eyes. "With Peter and Tink."

"Has Tink decided if she's trying out for cheer?" Eilonwy asked generally.

Penny nodded mutely while Taran answered, "I think so. Why?"

Eilonwy groaned. "She's only doing it cuz I am. She thinks it'll impress Peter."

Lilo grunted. "Is she still upset over how he used to like you? That was, like, seventh grade."

"And he didn't even like me! He just thought I was cute." Eilonwy rolled her eyes before continuing, "But yeah. I guess she is. She's so annoying."

"I think she's getting a bunch of her friends to try out, too." Mowgli added.

"Ugh!" Eilonwy replied dramatically.

Repunzal giggled. "Don't worry, I'm sure you're better than all of them."

Eilonwy smiled. "Thanks, Allie."

Merida tried not to cringe. _I thought I was the only one who called her that..._

It was the last period of the day. The middle of the last period of the day. Another half-hour, and everyone could go home.

Peter and Tink were enjoying the free time in P.E. while Wendy followed them around like a kicked puppy. They had Coach Tarzan, and he was chill. He focused a lot on climbing and stuff, so they worked a lot on the climbing wall or rope, and would mostly be tested on pull-ups and flexibility. Tarzan was also patient and understanding, so he graded kind of easy.

Right now, Flynn and his group were using a beachball to play some silly variation of volleyball. Peter joined in while Tink and Wendy stood on the side and laughed. Then a crowd of Tink's friends showed up and Wendy stood by awkwardly and, strangely, alone. None of Tink's friends liked her, (Tink didn't, either), and Peter was busy playing. Wendy silently wished that one of her other friends was in her class this period, but since she'd been ditching them for Peter, they'd kind of been giving her the cold shoulder. Especially Eilonwy.

Let's take some time to describe the gym situation. There were two gyms on this campus: one on the east side, one on the west. The east gym was where P.E. classes were held, and while both gyms were massive, this one was three times bigger than the west one. It had three levels: The underground level was the indoor pool, the ground level had a basketball court, tennis court, volleyball court, gymnastics center, and weight room. The second story was an indoor track. Also, the pool level and ground level had locker rooms and washrooms. To top it off, this gym was attached to the soccer and baseball feilds outside.

The west gym was basically a basketball court and a weight room with locker rooms and washrooms, attached to the outdoor pool, outdoor tennis court, outdoor track and football field. That was basically where events happened.

Wendy could not get over how big the campus was; were there even 100 students at this school?

She was brought out of her thoughts by Peter tapping on her shoulder.

"Come on, Wendy! Let's go on the climbing wall!"

While he led her over, they passed by the other P.E. class. Coach Sinclaire was hollering at Milo, who was having trouble with his push-ups. This led to Kida arguing with the coach, and then Kida being benched for the rest of class and threatened with a phone call home. All the while, Esmeralda and Meg were giggling at their protective friend and the embarrassed Milo.

When the bell rang, everyone literally ran to the locker rooms. Coach Sinclaire rolled her eyes, making Coach Tarzan laugh.

"They are kids, Helga."

"That's the only time they're ever motivated to run." She spoke blandly.

He shrugged and headed to his office.

Meg was getting a ride home with Esmeralda since her car was in the shop. Her mom had been paranoid about something with the engine, which led Meg to the suspicion that her mom may not have bought the car from a reliable source...

She waited by the car while Esmeralda stood a few yards away chatting with Kida and Nakoma about dance practices. Pocahontas was probably with her study group tonight.

She saw Hercules walking to his car across the parking lot. He caught sight of her and smiled, waving. She waved back with a softened smirk, her eyes shining. She watched him climb into his car and drive away. Then she was made aware of three girls giggling as they approached her. She turned to see her friends grinning like idiots.

"What?"

"You liiiiiiike him!" Nakoma poked her and three girls broke out into giggles again.

Meg rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. "I do not."

"Meg, it's fine. He's cute! And really nice, and he genuinely likes you!" Esmeralda said.

"So? That doesn't mean I like him." Meg crossed her arms and turned her head away.

"What's the problem, Meg?" Kida asked softly.

Meg sighed, slouching a little in defeat...

**MEG**

_If there's a prize for rotten judgement,_

_I guess I've already won that..._

_No man is worth the aggravation..._

_That's ancient history._

_Been there, done that!_

Esmeralda rolled her eyes and came to stand next to her friend. Kida and Nakoma stood before her with crossed arms.

**ESMERALDA/NAKOMA/KIDA**

_Who ya' think you're kidding? _

_He's the earth and heaven to you!_

_Try to keep it hidden? _

_Honey, we can see right through you!_

**MEG**

_Oh, nooooo...!_

But her friends continued...

**E/N/K**

_Girl, you can't decieve us!_

_We know how you feel and _

_who you're thinking of!_

**MEG**

_Oh, no chance!_

_No way!_

_I won't say it!_

_No, no!_

But they continued to push.

**E/N/K**

_You swoon!_

_You sigh..._

_Why deny it?_

_Oh, oh!_

**MEG**

_It's too cliche!_

_I won't say_

_I'm in love..._

_I thought my heart had learned it's lesson..._

_It feels so good when you start out..._

_My head is screaming:_

_"Get a grip, girl!_

_Unless you're dying to _

_cry your heart out!"_

_Oh!_

**E/N/K**

_You keep on denying_

_who you are and how you're feeling! _

_Baby, we're not buying! _

_Hon, we saw you hit the ceiling!_

_Face it like a grown-up! _

_When ya' gonna own up that you _

_got, got, got it bad?_

**MEG**

_Oh! No chance!_

_No way!_

_I won't say it!_

_No, no!_

**E/N/K**

_Give up!_

_Give in!_

**ESMERALDA ALONE**

_Check the grin!_

_You're in love!_

**MEG**

_This scene won't play!_

_I won't say I'm in love!_

**E/N/K**

_You're doing flips!_

_Read our lips!_

_You're in love!_

**MEG**

_You're way off base!_

_I won't say it!_

They went on teasing...

**E/N/K**

_She won't say it!_

_No!_

**MEG**

_Get off my case!_

_I won't say it!_

**E/N/K**

_Girl, don't be proud!_

_It's okay you're in love!_

**MEG**

_Oh..._

_At least out loud_

_I won't say I'm in love..._

Esmeralda smiled at her best friend. "Meg. Not all guys are alike."

Meg gave Esmeralda a defeated look. "I really hope you're right."

Esmeralda hugged her. "I'll tell you right now. I've encountered a lot of men in my life. And not all of them are so bad."

Kida and Nakoma joined in the hug.

Meanwhile, Tiana was driving to Charlotte's house. Charlotte had heard the news from Phillip and just wanted to know _everything. _Tiana shook her head, smiling distractedly. She wasn't even sure she knew everything...

She pulled into the grand driveway of the residence and parked to the side. Sighing, she pulled herself out of the car and locked it, walking to the front door. After ringing the bell, she was let in by maid who told her Charlotte was in her room. She climbed the extravagant staircase and turned to the left. She knew the way by now; She'd been friends with Charlotte since preschool.

Tiana's mom was a seamstress. Charlotte's family became her mom's biggest customer because Charlotte's parents insisted that she be dressed like the princess they believed her to be. And since Tiana's dad worked so much and Tiana wasn't in school, her mom had to take Tiana everywhere. Tiana and Charlotte became best friends shortly, despite being polar opposites.

As soon as Tiana entered the bedroom, she was attacked by a squealing Charlotte. She returned the blond's hug with a laugh.

"Hey, Lottie."

"Oh, Tiiiiiaaaa! I knew you and Phillip liked each other! Oh, you two are just too cute! Tell me everything!" Charlotte bounced onto her bed and patted the spot next to her.

Tiana smiled and joined her friend. "There isn't much to tell, really. I dunno what's between me and Phil just yet. But I guess I'm gonna find out..."

"What do you mean you don't know? I think you two are meant to be!"

Tiana laughed. "Well, he's very nice. And yeah, he's cute. But there's no telling right now, Lottie..."

"Oh, how could he resist you? With your pretty little eyes and your sweet accent! Oh, Tia, he must be head over heels!"

"That's not really my point..."

"And I'll tell you what! You're the only person I know who calls him Phil. Maybe that means something." She poked Tiana playfully.

Tiana smiled absently, too distracted by the mess of Charlotte's room to answer. Charlotte continued.

"I also think he's exactly what you need. A good reason to quit working so much. Now, for as long as I've known you, it's akways been work, work, work! All your extracurriculars ain't even any fun! This is your senior year of high school, Tia! Time to let loose! Have some fun, ya' know?"

Tia smiled at her friend weakly. "I just really need to get into that cooking school, Lottie. I need to be able to get away, become a real good chef, and open my own place like I've always wanted! Just go away and make good food, play good music, make people smile. Like daddy and me always dreamed..."

Ever since her father died, Tiana had been obsessed with that dream restaurant. She had to make it happen. And like her daddy had told her, she had to work for it, and she was happy to. Charlotte wouldn't understand that... She never had.

Right now Lottie had an arm around Tiana's shoulder. "Tia, we both know that's gonna happen. And when it does, it'll be amazing. And I'll have the pleasure if sayin', 'Yup! That's my best friend! She's the amazing chef at that fantastic restaurant!' But for now, why not just live?"

Tiana sighed, standing up and absent-mindedly picking up the various debris around Charlotte's room.

**TIANA**

_That's just gonna have to wait awhile..._

_Ain't got time for messing around,_

_and it's not my style..._

_This old town can slow me down. _

_People taking the easy way._

_But I know exactly where I'm goin'._

_I'm gettin' closer and closer every day!_

_I'm almost there!_

_I'm almost there..._

_People round here think I'm crazy, _

_but I don't care._

_Trials and tribulations..._

_I know I've had my share! _

_But there ain't nothing gonna slow me down, _

_'cause I'm almost there!_

Charlotte got up to help clean while Tiana continued...

_I remember daddy told me: _

_"Fairy tales can come true... _

_But you gotta make 'em happen. _

_It all depends on you!"_

_So I worked real hard each and every day._

_Now things for sure are going my way!_

_Just doing what I do..._

_Look out boys, I'm coming through!_

_And I'm almost there..._

_I'm almost there!_

_People gonna come here from everywhere, _

_but I'm almost there._

_I'm almost there!_

Lottie grinned and pulled Tiana into an improvised swing dance. The two girls started laughing and collapsed on the bed. After a moment, Tiana got her breath back and sat up to finish her point.

_There's been trials and tribulations..._

_You know I've had my share..._

She jumped up on the bed and Charlotte followed her. The two jumped around in excitement on the fluffy mattress.

_But I've climbed a mountain!_

_I've crossed a river!_

_And I'm almost there!_

_I'm almost there..._

_I'm almost there!_

_The two girls jumped off the bed and spun around the room. They collapsed in the middle of the plush, magenta-colored carpet in a heap of giggles and shrieks._

"So..." Charlotte sat up first.

Tiana grinned up at her. "Hmm?"

"What happens if you and Phillip become serious?"

Tiana smirked. "I hope he's as patient as he seems." She sighed. "I'm so close, Lottie. I can't let anything stop me now."

Lottie gripped Tiana's hand with a sweet smile. Tiana grinned back, closing her eyes. There was a knock at the door and they both looked up to see a maid standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Yes, what is it?" Charlotte asked.

"Will miss Tiana be staying for dinner tonight?"

Tiana checked her watch. "Nah. I have to head to the diner in about an hour. I'll eat dinner there."

The maid nodded and left. Tiana looked up at Charlotte with raised brows.

"You want me to help you study for that English Lit. test or what?"

Charlotte sighed. "Yeah..."

Jasmine was doing the pre-calculus worksheet she'd recieved for homework when her phone buzzed. She checked it to see that it was Aladdin texting her. She smiled and opened the message, then furrowed her eye brows.

_Look outside. ;)_

She strode cautiously to the bay doors that led to her balcony and peeked through the curtains. He waved at her from his perch on the edge of the balcony. She grinned and opened the door, stepping out onto the balcony. She quietly shut the door behind her as he turned toward her. He got up and met her in the middle of the balcony. She hugged him with a giggle.

"Hey, gorgeous." He grinned.

"Hey. What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?"

He shrugged as they pulled apart. "Flynn knows the area pretty well. And I figured it had to be the nicest estate around."

"Oh..." she played awkwardly with her hair, feeling self-conscious. It was no secret that Aladdin wasn't so well-off; She hadn't thought of how he might react to her house... She was silently thankful that her dad wasn't home, so his limo was absent from the driveway.

"Hey." He said softly. She looked up at him. "I could care less whether you live in a palace or in a little shack off the interstate. It doesn't change how I feel about you."

She grinned. He smiled back, a sweet crooked smile. Then he continued.

"On that note, let me take you away from here."

"What?"

"I wanna take you somewhere. But you have to trust me."

"Aladdin-"

"Do you trust me?"

After a moment, she grinned and nodded. "I do."

He smirked and turned his back to her kneeling down. "Get on my back."

She did so, and he waited till she was securely latched to him to stand up. Then he swung over the edge of the balcony and dangled there. She squeaked and held on tighter to him, making him laugh. Then he dropped down onto the top of the garage.

She sighed, ashamed of herself. She'd totally known that was there. She relaxed against him as he climbed off the side of the garage balancing on a trash bin. He carefully lowered himself to the ground. Once down safely, he strolled away across the lawn and disappeared through the security gate with Jasmine still on his back. She giggled and snuggled against him, nestling her face against his shoulder. He smiled at her over his shoulder, their foreheads brushing together.

"So where are we going?" She stage-whispered.

He chuckled. "Well, it's kinda a long walk. We can go anywhere you want along the way."

"Really? And you'll carry me the whole way?" She laughed.

"Of course!"

**ALADDIN**

_I can show you the world..._

_Shining, shimmering, splendid..._

_Tell me, Princess, now when did _

_you last let your heart decide?_

_I can open your eyes._

_Take you wonder by wonder._

_Over, sideways and under on a magic carpet ride!_

_A whole new world!_

_A new fantastic point of view!_

_No one to tell us no, or where to go, or say "we're only dreaming"... _

"Oh! Can we stop there?" She pointed to a cute little store. They'd made it downtown in a matter of moments; She almost never came downtown but she'd always wanted to go in that store.

"Sure." He smiled.

She hopped off of his back as they approached the store. It was like a little booth really. The front was completely open, and the place was only lit by one over-hanging candle. It was still light enough outside to see easily. Jasmine admired the the ornate carpet strewn over the dirt floor as she stepped over it. She looked around at the other carpets and rugs hanging on all sides of the little stand. Then she approached the the little table at the front. It was covered in intricately made necklaces and earrings. One necklace in particular caught her eye; a simple gold chain with a turquoise pendant hanging from it. She silently wished she had brought her wallet. She'd have to hope she could come back soon enough to buy it.

As they walked away he nudged her. She looked up at him to see his devilish smile.

"What?..."

"Look what I got you." He held out the very necklace she'd been looking at.

Her eyes went wide. "Did you steal that."

He shrugged and smirked.

She shook her head, letting him put the necklace on her. "You don't have to do that..."

"I know. I just thought you deserved it." He wrapped an arm around her and led her down a busier street.

She gasped and gawked at all the various booths and street performers. They'd stumbled upon a fair of some kind. He smirked at her and gripped her hand, pushing through the crowd. They passed by various little shops and games, children rushing past them and shrieking with laughter. Jasmine grinned as she took it all in. She'd never done this type of thing before.

While Aladdin played at a dunk booth to win her a stuffed animal, she beamed up at him.

**JASMINE**

_A whole new world..._

_A dazzling place I never knew!_

_But when I'm way out here, _

_it's crystal clear that now _

_I'm in a whole new world with you..._

**ALADDIN**

_Now I'm in a whole new world with you!_

He handed her a stuffed tiger. She hugged it, and then grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a dance group performing in the street. Now it was darker and, while all the street lights were off, there were torches and candles placed beautifully to illuminate the dancer's fiery-colored satin costumes.

**JASMINE**

_Unbelievable sights!_

_Indescribable feeling!_

_Soaring, tumbling, free-wheeling, _

_through an endless diamond sky!_

Jasmine glanced behind her to see a little boy standing near a fruit cart, staring forlornly at an apple. He was a cute kid, but very pale and way too thin. She wandered away from the crowd without Aladdin noticing and kneeled down next to the child.

"Are you hungry? Do you want an apple?" She asked him.

He nodded. "But I don't have money..."

"Here." She picked the nicest-looking apple she saw and held it out to him. "It's on me." She smiled.

He slowly took it, then jumped forward and hugged her, whispering, "Thank you."

She patted his back. "No problem."

She stood up and the boy ran off ecstatically. She smiled, then jumped nearly out of her skin when someone yelled behind her.

"Hey!"

She turned to see the vender standing behind her with his hands on his hips. "Yes?"

"You're gonna pay for that, right?"

"Of course." She started to reach into her pocket, then winced. _Crap. My wallet's at home. _She looked back up at the vender apologetically. "I don't have my wallet..." She said weakly.

"Right. Come with me. I'm calling the cops."

He grabbed her arm, and his grip was so strong she couldn't pull herself free.

"No! Let go!" She yelled.

Luckily, Aladdin had turned in time to see the guy grab her. He rushed over, swiping a silver tray off a table of gleaming silverware.

"Hey!" He stopped next to the vender.

The guy turned to him. "What?"

Without another word, Aladdin hit the guy over the head with the tray. The guy stumbled back and released Jasmine. Aladdin hooked an arm around hers and dragged her down an alley. He heard some men shouting behind them, and footsteps. They were being chased. Aladdin led her to a fire escape and hoisted her up, then followed her. After climbing up, he lifted the ladder up, knowing that it would barely slow the thugs down.

They kept climbing till they reached the roof, then they gripped each other's hands and continued to run. They reached the edge of the roof and halted. But Aladdin could hear the men climbing up onto the roof. He turned to Jasmine.

"Still trust me?"

"Yes..." She replied warily.

He pulled her up into his arms so that he held her bridal style. Then, without a second thought, he leapt off of the roof and somehow made it to the next one. He grunted and rolled, protecting her head. Then he leapt up and kept running, letting her back down. They sprinted hand in hand toward the next edge.

"Jump!" He yelled.

She followed his lead, and as a pair, they deftly landed on the next roof and continued to run. They could still hear the men behind them, but they were creating a good distance.

Jasmine tried to wrap her head around the fact that she was roof-jumping with a boy she barely knew but completely trusted for whatever reason...

**JASMINE**

_A whole new world! _

As they neared another roof edge, he called out:

**ALADDIN**

_Don't you dare close your eyes! _

They threw themselves off the roof top and down onto another fire escape. As they descended, she went on:

**JASMINE**

_A hundred thousand things begin!_

_I'm like a shooting star!_

_I've come so far!_

_I can't go back to where I used to be!_

_Every turn a surprise! _

_Every moment red-letter!_

**ALADDIN**

_A whole new world!_

_With new horizons to pursue..._

**BOTH**

_I'll chase them anywhere!_

_There's time to spare!_

_Let me share this _

_whole new world with you..._

They made it to the ground and hid behind a dumpster. After watching the thugs run out of the alley, Aladdin led her in the opposite direction. They made it to a larger building and he helped her climb the fire escape. It was a long climb, but they made it to the roof after about five minutes.

It was the closest to the stars Jasmine had ever been. She gasped at the sight of it. He wrapped an arm around her and led her to an old sofa that had been abandoned there. They sat together and snuggled close. It was warmer out tonight, and the breeze felt nice, but Aladdin's warmth combined with the nearness of him was not going to be passed up. Jasmine got as close as she could to him, and together they sat and watched the stars.

**ALADDIN**

_A whole new world..._

**JASMINE**

_That's where we'll be..._

**ALADDIN**

_A thrilling chase. _

**JASMINE**

_A wonderous place._

**BOTH**

_For you and me..._

**A/N:**

**Did I surprise you? :D**

**Let me know what you think!**


	8. I Know You

That Friday, Aurora decided to ditch the after-school cheer practice and drove straight home. She was sure Lottie could manage without her. No one was going to listen to Aurora anyway. The whole school thought she was insane. And that was fine; She needed time alone. But it was embarrassing having to be alone at lunch, so she was thankful when Repunzal welcomed her to her group's table. There were too many freshman for her taste, but they weren't such terrible company.

Another downside to the seating arrangement was it's nearness to the pothead tree. (Seriously, Pocahontas referred to the tree as "Grandmother Willow".) Every once in a while, Aurora would occasionally catch Repunzal staring dreamily toward the tree, and Aurora would inwardly cringe. If Repunzal really wanted to be a cheerleader, she would have to drop her little fascination with that group. Aurora had stopped wondering long ago...

Aurora sighed gratefully when she got through her front door. After shutting it and locking it safely behind her, she collapsed against the door and ran a hand through her hair, closing her eyes. For the past two weeks, all she'd felt like doing was crying. And, for that first weekend, that was all she did. But since then, even though the tears wanted to come, they refused to. It was like they were mocking her, purposefully building pressure inside her. Exhausted, she forced her sore eyes open and started heading up the stairs to her room.

"Rorie?" Her mother called from the front room.

Aurora jumped. She thought she was the only one home. She walked toward the living room and stood under the tall archway. Her mother was sitting on the couch with the TV muted, some cooking show playing. Her mom had been trying to learn to cook recently, but to no avail. For a house-wife, she wasn't entirely useful.

Her mom smiled at her. "How was school, sweetie?"

"Fine." Aurora said softly, her smile weak. She'd lost her voice at some point as well as her energy.

"Just fine? Nothing interesting happened?"

"Not really."

"Oh. Has the musical been announced yet?"

"Nah. It probably won't be till October."

"Ah. You're gonna do it, right?"

Aurora shrugged.

Her mom's smile softened, and her eyes were sad. "You know, the musical might be exactly the thing to bring you back to life."

Aurora shrugged again and headed up the stairs. Her mom shook her head, putting the TV volume back up. She decided not to tell Aurora about Stephen pursuing a court case against Gaston.

Aurora collapsed onto her bed and shortly fell asleep.

It was five o'clock when Ariel stood on Aurora's doorstep, sighing. She'd volunteered to be the bigger person and go to pick up everyone's stuff. After a hesitant moment, she brought up a tiny fist and rapped her knuckles crisply against the white wood. There was a shuffling sound from the living room, where she'd seen Aurora's mom watching TV through the floor-to-cieling window. Soft footsteps were muffled by the carpeting on the other side of the door. Ariel put on a pleasant face before the door opened and she was faced by Aurora's cheerful mother.

Ariel never stopped being amazed by how much Aurora and her mom looked alike. They were like clones. But Ariel was more surprised by the calm, warm feeling emanating from inside the home. After Aurora's performance at the party and the cold, antisocial behavior from her ever since, Ariel had been expecting furniture strewn across the place, torn curtains, blood stains, and frigid temperatures, like in a possession film Ariel would never watch. But there was nothing obviously abnormal going on.

Ariel returned the angelic woman's smile. "Is Aurora home?"

"She's up in her room." She stepped out of the way and gestured for Ariel to head upstairs.

Ariel nodded awkwardly before slowly ascending the stairs. A terrible feeling crawled over her as she stopped outside the bedroom door. Now she was going to see the horror scene. Was the temperature dropping? She shook her head and raised a shaky hand to knock. When she did, she heard movement, probably from the bed. _Shit. Maybe she was sleeping... _After a patient moment, she knocked again.

"Yeah?" Aurora's throat was dry. She heard some one cough outside her door.

"Can I come in?"

Aurora frowned. She'd figured they'd come for their stuff eventually.

"Yeah." She grumbled.

The door creaked open and Ariel stepped hesitantly into the room. She looked sheepishly at the blond, then around the floor.

"It's in the bathroom." Aurora spoke flatly.

Ariel nodded, her eyes downcast, and made her way to the bathroom. After an awkward second of looking, she all but sighed at the sight of the massive bag near the shower. She hurriedly grabbed it, hefted it up and tucked it under her arm. Then she made a beeline for the door, which sat open. She made it to the hall and shut the door behind her. She stood and marvelled to herself just how normal everything looked, but how wrong it really was.

As she took her first step down the stairs, she was stopped by a sniffling noise. She slowly turned back to face the door. Taking a deep, silent breath, she took the step back up and stood outside the door, listening closely. After a long, tense moment of waiting (and telling herself she must be hearing things and soon she'd be crazy like Aurora), she heard it again. It was louder now, and it didn't stop. Soon the heart-wrenching sniffles turned into quiet sobs.

_Crap._

Without a second thought, she opened the door and stepped inside. She met Aurora's bloodshot eyes with more bravery than she thought she had.

"Rorie?"

"Ariel!" The blond wailed.

Ariel dropped the bag, closed the door, and rushed over to the bed, taking Aurora into her arms while she continued to sob. Ariel stroked her golden curls and made shushing noises.

"It's okay, Rorie..."

"I'm sorry! Don't leave me alone any more!" Aurora sniffled miserably.

"I won't. But I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to..."

"I can't approach the others! They all hate me." Aurora shook her head. "I really messed up."

"How long have you been feeling like this?"

Aurora didn't answer. Ariel sighed. "Jesus, Rorie. None of this would be happening if you had talked to us sooner."

Aurora nodded numbly. Ariel shook her head and glanced toward the bathroom door. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, okay?"

Aurora nodded again. Ariel got up and went into the bathroom, closing the door. Then, after a long, decisive moment, she pulled out her phone and started texting for reinforcements.

About half an hour later, there was another knock at the door. Ariel jumped up to answer it, sending Aurora a quick smile. Aurora watched in confusion and anxiety as Ariel peered through the door she'd just opened a crack and whispered something. There was whispering on the other side, and Ariel hissed something back and stepped away from the door. It swung open the rest of the way and Jasmine stepped in, followed by a reluctant Lottie, a focused Cindy, a gentle Giselle, and finally, a sheepish Snow. They all stood clustered in the doorway for a moment while Aurora stared at them blankly. Ariel smiled reassuringly at both sides. After a few more seconds, Jasmine finally rolled her eyes.

"So. What's on your mind, Rorie?"

Aurora broke down into sobs again. Cindy made a sympathetic noise before rushing to her friend and holding her. Snow followed and gripped Aurora's hand, resting on the blond's shoulder. Eventually all of them were piled on the bed, with a content Ariel sitting at the foot of the mattress. Aurora kept whimpering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...", and Cindy and Jasmine kept softly shushing her. Charlotte started crying too.

"You poor thing. You look so tired..." Charlotte snivelled, squeezing Aurora in a hug.

Aurora laughed. "I'm always tired lately."

"Wanna tell us what happened?" Giselle asked.

Aurora looked at Ariel, who nodded and said, "She told me already. I can explain... Well, if Rorie wants me to."

"Go ahead."

"Right..." Ariel told the story of Aurora and Phillip's conversation at the party as shortly and sweetly as possible. By the end of it, everyone was staring at Aurora.

"He called you self-centered?" Snow chirped.

Aurora nodded.

Jasmine sighed and spoke lightly, but the sarcasm was obvious. "Well, I wonder where he'd get an idea like that."

"Jazz, stop it." Cindy warned.

"No. I wanna hear this." Aurora said, eyes narrowed at Jasmine.

Jasmine shrugged. "I mean, you have everything you could possibly want. Two loving parents in the same house, three adoring aunts to shower you with gifts, co-captaincy of the cheer squad, doting suitors and crazed fans in and out of school. And, " Her expression grew softer. "...friends who love and would do anything for you. But you're still unhappy. Why is that?"

Aurora shook her head. "I don't know. I just feel alone."

Now Jasmine smiled. "Everyone feels like that."

"That doesn't make it less painful." Aurora mumbled.

Jasmine stared at her for a moment, then pushed through the other girls and hugged her. Aurora was too surprised to hug Jasmine back at first, but when she did, it was strangely satisfying.

"I know I can be really cold sometimes." Jasmine spoke softly in her ear. "And maybe I'm a little hard to talk to. But I'm going to be a better friend to you from now on. Okay?"

"Okay." Aurora smiled.

Jasmine pulled away and settled awkwardly on the edge of the bed.

"Whenever you're feeling down, just talk to one of us." Giselle patted her shoulder.

"Yeah, girl. You can't have another freak-out like that. It's bad for your image." Charlotte spoke up as she reached over and playfully tugged on a lock of Aurora's hair.

Cindy shot Charlotte a look, but Aurora grinned. "Oh, I can't have that now, can I?"

Charlotte giggled and bounced. "Oh! You're comeback is gonna be the biggest news around school! And in perfect timing, too! Senior Mosts get voted in next Friday. That gives us one week to do damage control!"

"Let's not talk about that now." Jasmine said firmly.

"Oh, right!" Charlotte looked at Aurora. "Any plans tonight?"

"Of course not."

"Yay! Sleepover! And, look! Our PJ's are already here!" Lottie pointed at the bag by the door.

This made everyone laugh, including Aurora. Cindy gripped Aurora's hand and smiled.

"We missed you."

Aurora grinned back. "I missed you guys, too."

"Should I order a pizza?" Ariel smirked.

"Yes!" Everyone cheered.

Two hours later, after eating two large pizzas and a side of 36-piece hot wings, the girls portioned off the last two-liter of Sprite carefully. Soda wasn't something any of them usually drank; It was only for special occasions. While Aurora and Snow started looking for a movie to watch, Charlotte started rambling about Naveen and how dreamy his accent was and what a prince he was and had any of them seen his dimples?

The girls giggled and Ariel tossed a pillow and Charlotte half-heartedly.

"We get it! He's perfect! You're so lucky!" Ariel continued to giggle.

Everyone screeched with laughter. Charlotte didn't even bother to fix her hair. She was to busy returning the pillow to the red-head, aerial style. But it flew too far and hit Giselle instead.

"Oops!"

"Wrong red-head, Lottie!" Cindy teased.

"Hush, you!" Charlotte pointed her finger at the chuckling blond. "Speaking of you, how are things with Charming?"

"Oooooooh!" Everyone chorused.

Cindy sighed. "Wonderful. He's perfect."

"Details, details!" Charlotte and Jasmine cheered.

"You know that moment when you look at someone and realize they're your soul mate, and there's no one else who could ever hold a candle to them?"

"Yes." Ariel replied dreamily.

"That moment happens every time I look at him."

Everyone squealed. Snow spoke up from her seat next to Aurora. "How did you two meet?"

Cindy blushed. "Would you believe it was because of a shoe?"

"Oh, I love this story!" Giselle cheered.

"Well, we were all at a party that Edward was throwing in the 8th grade. And me and Giselle were dancing on the crowded patio when I bumped into him. I was really shy back then. I all but ran from him. But, as I was fighting my way back into the house, I tripped and fell. I was so embarrassed that I ran upstairs to the bathroom without looking back."

"The bathroom?" Snow laughed.

"Hush, you." Cindy replied, imitating Charlotte. Everyone giggled before she continued. "I was sitting alone, on the toilet, completely ashamed of my clumsiness, when I noticed my shoe was missing. I realized it had to be sitting out on that patio and got even more embarrassed because I knew I would have to go get it. Then there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, he was standing there, looking at me strangely. I thought I would just die right there, and everything would be fine..."

Charlotte laughed at Cindy's dramatics.

"And then, he held up my missing shoe and said, 'You forgot something'. And I just fell in love."

The girls squealed. Cindy laughed and looked at Snow. "How about you and Ferdinand?"

"Um..." Snow blushed. "Is it sad that I miss him, and I only saw him a few hours ago?"

Giggles ensued.

"That's not abnormal." Charlotte assured her with a grin.

"I knew on the first day of school." Aurora said to her dark-haired friend. "The first time you saw each other. I knew it was meant to be."

"Really?"

Aurora nodded, making Snow clap.

"Oh, I just knew it too!" Snow cheered.

"What about the first time you two spoke? What was that like?" Jasmine asked Snow, leaning forward in interest.

"Oh! He was so polite, and caring and thoughtful. And he's smart, really smart. Oh, and that voice..."

"I hear you. If Eric had a sweet accent like that, I would never want him to stop talking." Ariel grinned.

**SNOW**

_He was so romantic, _

_I could not resist..._

_Some day, my prince will come. _

_Some day, we'll meet again._

_And away to his castle we'll go!_

_To be happy forever, I know!_

"Uh, Snow? That day will probably be tomorrow." Ariel smirked. This very true statement sent everyone into a fit of giggles. Snow continued with a dreamy smile, blushing.

_Some day, when Spring is here, _

_we'll find our love anew!_

_And the birds will sing, _

_and wedding bells will ring!_

_Some day, when my dreams come true..._

"Oh, a Spring wedding! That would be so cute!" Charlotte cheered.

"But we are still in high school. No need to plan it out just yet." Aurora winked at Snow, who only blushed deeper.

"I know." Snow grinned. "It's just a nice thought."

Everyone giggled again before Ariel turned to Jasmine. "So. Eric tells me you and Aladdin have quite a..." she moved her hands to simulate fireworks, "...spark going, eh?"

"Ooooooooh!" The chorus turned on Jasmine now.

Jasmine laughed awkwardly and looked down. "Yeah..."

"What's it like?" Charlotte demanded.

"It's different..." She sounded uncertain.

"Different good, or...?" Giselle began.

"It's good." Jasmine cut her off. "Very good. Things are different with him. With him, I'm not a trophy. I'm just another person. I don't float, I walk. And he's not a show off. He's not like, 'Look at all this stuff I have! Look how great my life is! You deserve only the best!' He's more like, 'Let me give you what I have. Let me show you how your life could be, without all the stuff you don't need.' Everyone's just tried to spoil me my whole life. But he just..." She sighed, grinning. "He's very unapologetically just himself. Not fake or stand-offish. Just modest and humble and...perfect."

"He's cute, too!" Charlotte teased, making everyone laugh.

Jasmine smiled to herself. She wouldn't tell them about his penchant for stealing and escaping from thugs. She didn't want them to worry about her or think any less of him. Also, she was going to be having a private conversation about it with him soon.

Attention was turned on Ariel now.

"You have just had this glow about you ever since the party!" Charlotte accused dramatically.

Ariel smiled guiltily. "Well..."

Charlotte gasped. "Gossip!"

"Tell us! Tell us please!" Giselle pleaded.

Ariel took a deep breath. "Okay. So... After the party, Eric and I went back to his place. His parents were out of town, so we were alone. And I, uh...spent the night."

"Wait. Did you...?" Cindy started. When she saw Ariel's cheeks turn red and the guilty girl bit her lip, everyone squealed, including Cindy.

"Oh, way to go, Little Mermaid!" Charlotte hugged the girl. "Good to know I'm not the only one who got some that night!"

"You and Naveen...?" Aurora smirked.

Charlotte nodded. "Yup. We consummated our new relationship real nice, tell you what." She looked at Ariel again. "What was it like for you?"

"Um..."

"What? Do you not remember?" Giselle teased.

After a moment of Ariel floundering, there was a collective gasp.

"You don't remember!" Snow gasped.

"You were high, huh?" Jasmine asked bluntly.

"Well, yeah..."

"Oh, crap. Did he drive while he was high?! And you were in the car with him?!"

"Oh, Jasmine, please don't scold me. We were fine!"

"Oh, Ariel... Wasn't it your first time?" Snow asked.

Ariel nodded sheepishly.

"Oh, no! It wasn't special at all?" Cindy seemed distressed.

"Well, in the morning, we did it again. A lot. And that was nice!"

"Oh! Just say that was the first time. We won't tell a soul." Charlotte said.

"Really?"

"Sweetie, if you don't remember it, it doesn't count." Charlotte assured her.

Aurora scoffed while Cindy and Snow giggled and Jasmine rolled her eyes. Giselle was the one who spoke.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Lottie."

Charlotte swatted at Giselle with a pillow and everyone screeched with laughter.

"And how are you and Edward?" Jasmine asked Giselle.

"We're fine."

"Just fine?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah."

Everyone stared at her, making her shrink a little. "What?"

"You guys aren't 'wonderful' or 'perfect' like when you first became an item?" Cindy teased.

"Oh. Yeah, we're perfect."

"Giselle!" They all yelled.

Her eyes grew wide. "What?!"

"You guys are the star couple of the school! The faces of the Disney Mice! And yet you don't seem very...involved." Jasmine said.

"We should really change our name..." Ariel said distractedly. Charlotte shot her a look.

"Well... It's just... There's no spark any more!" Giselle cried.

Everyone gasped.

Giselle nodded. "Yeah. I know. I don't even know if he loves me any more... And I thought we would be together forever!" Her eyes were tearing up.

"Don't think like that." Cindy said soothingly.

"Of course you guys are meant to be!" Charlotte cried.

"You just need to get your spark back!" Snow trilled.

"He loves you, Giselle. Of course he does." Jasmine said.

**GISELLE**

_How do I know he loves me?_

_How do I know he's mine?_

**ARIEL**

_How does she know that he loves her?_

**CINDY**

_How does he show her he loves her?_

**ARIEL/CINDY**

_How does she know that he really, _

_really, truly loves her? _

**ALL BUT GISELLE AND LOTTIE**

_How does she know that he loves her?_

_How does he show that he loves her?_

_How does she know that he really, _

_really, truly loves her?_

**GISELLE**

_It's not enough to take _

_the one you love for granted..._

_You must remind her, _

_or she'll be inclined to say:_

_"How do I know he loves me?_

_How do I know he's mine?"_

**CINDY**

_Well, does he leave a little note_

_to tell you you are on his mind?_

**SNOW**

_Send you yellow flowers _

_when the sky is gray?_

_Hey..._

**AURORA/JASMINE**

_He'll find a new way to show you, _

_a little bit every day!_

**ALL BUT GISELLE AND LOTTIE**

_That's how you know! _

**LOTTIE**

_That's how you know!_

Lottie's sudden deafening screech must have been cause for alarm, because Aurora's mother was suddenly in the room, her eyes wide. When she walked in to see the girls in various poses around the room, but seemingly unharmed, she relaxed. Then she pulled a face.

"Everything okay, girls?"

"Yeah..." They all mumbled as they sat down, the musical mood thoroughly ruined.

"Okay... Rorie, your dad's bringing snacks home for you guys."

"Okay, mom."

"Okay..." Her mom left, closing the door behind her.

The girls looked around at each other. Then, they all suddenly started to cackle. After collecting her breath, Giselle groaned. "But seriously, guys. What am I gonna do?"

"Well, when was the last time you guys went in like, a date?" Ariel asked.

"Not since we first started..." Giselle stopped and gasped suddenly. "Oh, my God! That's perfect!"

"Yay!" Charlotte clapped. "Problem solved!"

Cindy cast a careful glance toward Aurora. "So, Rorie... I'm guessing you've heard about Phillip and Tiana?"

Aurora nodded. "Yu_p_." The "p" made a popping noise.

"And how do you feel about it?" Jasmine probed.

Aurora thought about it for a moment. "I'm happy for them."

"Really?" Ariel asked.

"Yeah, I mean..." She ran a hand through her hair. "I told him he deserved better, and he found better. They're cute together, and... And I'm tired of being unhappy, so I'm not gonna let myself any more." She smirked.

"Good for you, girl!" Charlotte clapped.

"Maybe you and Phillip can be friends?" Giselle spoke hopefully.

"I hope so..."

"Oh, Jesus! I forgot!" Charlotte suddenly jumped up and started fixing her hair.

"What?" Snow asked.

"Tia and Phillip have their date tonight! I'm supposed to help her get ready! Be back in an hour!" She ran out of the room and to her car.

Everyone looked warily at Aurora. After a hesitant moment, Jasmine spoke.

"We won't say anything to any one, you know. You can tell the truth."

Aurora sighed. "I've known him since birth. Now he's happy with someone else, and he hates my guts."

"He doesn't hate you. He misses you." Cindy said.

"He'd probably be ecstatic if you guys could be friends." Ariel nodded.

"Mm-hmm. In fact, he'll probably be happier than anyone else about you being back to normal." Snow grinned.

Aurora smiled. "I hope so. I'd really like to be friends with him again..."

"He would like that, too." Jasmine smirked. "But... Are you sure there aren't any more romantic feelings there?"

Aurora slowly shook her head.

"You sure?" Giselle prodded.

Aurora sighed. "Does it really matter now?"

"It always matters." Cindy answered.

Aurora shook her head, firmly this time. "No. As long as he's happy with Tiana, it doesn't matter."

"Knowing Tiana, it won't last." Jasmine said plainly. "The girl's all about work."

"You don't have to try to give me hope. I'm really fine. Besides, I like being single. No commitment, no worries about keeping him happy, no ending up like my mom..."

"Drunken idiots coming on a little too strong..." Cindy continued for her.

"Confusion and doubt..." Jasmine followed.

Then Giselle. "Loneliness and bitterness..."

And finally Ariel. "Lots of cats."

After a silent moment, Snow spoke up. "I like cats."

Everyone giggled. Aurora smiled around the group. "Honestly, guys. This is high school. It's way too early for a serious relationship..." Her voice drifted off, and that familiar feeling of self-loathing came over her. Those words couldn't have been hers... Were they? She shook her head and stood. "I'm gonna get some water from the kitchen."

As she got her water she sighed, thinking to herself.

**AURORA**

_I know you... _

_I walked with you _

_once upon a dream..._

_I know you._

_The gleam in your eyes _

_is so familiar a gleam..._

_Yet, I know it's true that _

_visions are seldom all they seem._

_But if I know you, _

_I know what you'll do..._

_You'll love me at once..._

_The way you did once upon a dream..._

She sighed, muttering to herself as she headed back upstairs. "Yet, I dream..."

About half an hour later, Cindy asked, "What do you think the musicals will be this year?"

"Ms. Rabbit said that this year's theme was a color..." Ariel said absent-mindedly.

"A color?" Giselle asked. "Hmm..."

"I dunno if I'm gonna do it this year." Jasmine said.

"Oh, Jazz you've got to! We always do it altogether!" Ariel cried.

Jasmine shrugged. "I'll think about it..."

"You're doing it, right, Snow?" Aurora asked.

Snow smiled sheepishly. "I want to..."

"You should. It's a lot of fun." Giselle grinned.

"We have a great theater program." Cindy nodded.

Charlotte burst in then. "I know! I'm so excited!"

"You're back early." Jasmine said.

"Oh, Tia kicked me out. Said I was making too big a deal, and then she wouldn't let me dress her up or anything!"

Giselle and Snow giggled. Charlotte's crazy hair and PJ's did not match her prideful attitude.

Charlotte scoffed. "I personally thought she was making a big mistake not taking my help. But she ended up looking pretty enough."

"That's good." Ariel nodded, but her eyes kept drifting to Aurora.

_They're all waiting for me to explode, _Aurora realized. She'd given herself quite the reputation, apparently. She kept her calm, her face expressionless. Snow was frowning as she searched through the DVDs. She pulled out _Mama Mia _and held it up for the whole room to see.

Charlotte gasped. "I love that movie!"

"Put it on!" Ariel and Giselle cheered.

As they were watching it, they sang and danced along. After "Dancing Queen", Cindy said, "We should totally do this musical at school."

Aurora shrugged. "The clue is a color... They wear a lot of white in this movie..."

"Is white a color?" Jasmine wondered aloud.

"I thought it was the absence of color..." Giselle mused.

Cindy shrugged. "Oh well."

"It'll probably be something high-energy like this, though... We got a lot of complaints last year that the musicals were too much of a downer..." Charlotte said.

"Well, yeah. We did _Sweeney Todd _and _Les Miserables_!" Aurora laughed. "Of course they were downers."

"I hope we're doing something happy! Like Hairspray!" Snow chirped.

Cindy laughed. "Maybe if there wasn't a lack of black people at our school, Snow."

"Or if there were any girls at our school who wore anything above a size four..." Jasmine smirked.

"Our school is weird." Giselle stated.

"Yeah..." Aurora nodded.

Charlotte's phone buzzed and she hurried to grab it, opening the new message eagerly. She grinned.

"Tia says the date's going great!" Charlotte squeaked.

Aurora once again pretended that no one was looking at her and expecting her to lose it again.

The next morning, while everyone was still asleep, Aurora crawled out of bed and silently changed her clothes. She pulled on a pale grey sweater and darker grey knee-length skirt and a black head band. As she stepped into her black flats, she realized that she needed a little color. She headed down the stairs and grabbed her purple scarf from the hook by the front door. As she wrapped it languidly around her neck, she slipped out the back door and across her back yard. Then she left the yard through the gate and wandered across the expanse of grass behind her home till she reached the forest.

As she delved further into the woods, she felt more aware of the birds' song. It seemed to thaw her considerably, and she felt enlightened by the little creatures who lived without any worry or trouble. Maybe she could learn to live like that...

"Hakuna Matata." She muttered.

Her voice frightened a bluejay and it crashed its way out of a tree and soared up above her head. It's tiny form was lost in the sunlight as she squinted. She looked down and blinked a few times, her eyes watering. She laughed and paused, wondering aloud:

**AURORA**

_I wonder... _

_I wonder..._

_I wonder why each little_

_bird has a someone..._

_To sing to... _

_Sweet things to..._

_A gay little love melody?_

_I wonder..._

_I wonder...?_

_If my heart keeps singing, _

_will my song go winging_

_to someone,_

_who'll find me, _

_and bring back a _

_love song to me?_

She sighed as she found her favorite spot in the woods. It was on a rock by the calm stream. She took a seat on the rock and pulled off her flats. As her dainty feet slipped into the cool, soft water, she wrapped her scarf around her hair and laid back on the rock. She stared up through the canopy to see the clear blue sky. It was the perfect temperature outside: 75 degrees. _What a wonderful day to wake up to... _She grinned as her heavy eyelids slowly shut, succumbing to the peaceful slumber that had avoided her all of the night before.

It was two hours later when she was awakened by someone gently shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Giselle smiling down at her.

"Time to get up, Sleeping Beauty."

Aurora laughed lightly as she sat up. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to fall asleep."

"Well, you probably needed it. Come on, the others are worried about you."

"When did you guys wake up?" Aurora asked as they began the trek back.

"About an hour ago. We thought maybe you and your mom went to get us all donuts or something. But when half an hour passed and your mom came in to check on us, Jazz and Lottie started freaking out. I told them I would come get you, since Snow was still asleep."

Snow and Giselle were the only people who knew about the secret spot. Well, her parents knew too, but they'd never gone to it when they figured she wanted to be alone.

They came in through the back door, passing by Aurora's mom on their way up the stairs.

"Donuts sound good, girls?"

"Sounds perfect, mom!" Aurora called back while Giselle giggled.

Upon entering the bedroom, Aurora was immediately caught in a deadly hug by Charlotte.

"Scare us half to death, why don't you?!" Charlotte scolded as she pulled away.

Aurora and Giselle shared a smirk while Cindy spoke.

"Calm down, Lottie. She's fine." Cindy smiled at Aurora.

Snow was trying in vain to brush her gnarly curls. Jasmine was on the laptop on some music site. Ariel came out of the bathroom, fresh out of the shower, in her clothes from the day before. She grinned at Aurora as she walked to her purse to put on some mascara.

"My shower now!" Charlotte trilled as she pranced into the bathroom.

Another two hours later, after everyone was cleaned and dressed and their bellies were full of donuts, Charlotte said, "You know what we have to do today, right?"

"What?" Cindy asked, as if she didn't know.

"Shopping!" Charlotte sang. She pointed toward Aurora. "That one needs a week's worth of killer outfits!"

Aurora laughed as she headed out of the room. "I'll ask my dad."

Charlotte scoffed. "As if he'll say no."

Of course, he said yes, and they all piled into Aurora's car and headed to the mall. They shopped for hours, each buying at least five outfits. Charlotte was texting furiously the entire time, while at lunch Jasmine warned Snow about the dangers of mall sushi, making everyone laughed. When Charlotte squealed suddenly, everyone looked at her.

"Tia says the date went so well, they're going out again next week!"

"That's great." Cindy said lightly.

"And apparently it ended really well too!" Charlotte winked.

"Oh?" Aurora leaned forward. "How did it end?"

Giselle and Cindy watched her warily, while Ariel and Snow looked down awkwardly and Jasmine pretended to be distracted by what she wanted to have for lunch. Or rather, an early dinner...

"She told me that they shared a sweet little kiss." Charlotte giggled, then gasped. "Oh! Her first kiss! My little girl's growin' up!" She squealed.

Aurora leaned back, seeming to relax. "That's great." Her smile was truly authentic; If there was one thing about Aurora, it was her impeccable theatre skills, namely her acting.

After a moment of silence, Ariel said, "I'm going to the sushi place."

"You're funeral..." Jasmine said. But when she saw Snow and Cindy follow Ariel away, she gave in and joined them.

Aurora and Giselle looked at each other. "Wanna get Mongolian food?" Aurora asked.

Giselle shook her head. "Better go with Chinese." Ever since Snow had told made the comment about the animals, she'd been doing her own research. She could hardly stand to even look at the Mongolian place.

"Okay." Aurora nodded. "Be right back, Lottie."

"Kaykay!"

After everyone had eaten, they strolled around the various stores. As Aurora examined a pleated skirt, Cindy walked up beside her and quietly said, "You never told us why Phillip's too good for you."

Aurora smiled sadly and shook her head. "I'm not ready to have that conversation just yet..."


	9. Belle

**Coach Tarzan was sitting** in the teacher's lounge on the following Monday morning, having arrived earlier than usual. It was officially October, and the cool air and pale sun were the perfect indicators of summer's end. It wasn't getting crisp outside just yet, but in a week or so it would, and the wind would turn sharp and the sky would be cloudy. Tarzan knew the students were excited; He'd heard kids talking about costumes and parties for Halloween since the first day of school. And he couldn't help but join in on the excitement. The anticipation of the holidays was prominent everywhere, and everyone seemed rejuvenated by the promises the next few months held.

_If only there were three months of consecutive holidays in second semester... _He mused.

He was currently sitting with Mr. Porter, who taught biology and physics. Mr. Porter was going on and on about some vacation he'd been on over the summer. Well, not so much a vacation as an expedition. Mr. Porter wasn't just some idle high school science teacher; He was still heavily involved in the world of science, making heavy contributions to the scientific community. Technology, medicine, and, mostly, observations of wildlife. Apparently this time around, it had been gorillas.

_Been there, done that... _Tarzan thought in amusement, smiling while he listened to Mr. Porter's stories.

"Oh, and I was so glad that Jane could come with me this time around." Mr. Porter was saying.

"Jane?" Tarzan frowned, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Oh, she's my daughter. You haven't met?"

Tarzan shook his head. "Nope."

"How strange. I thought everyone knew her by now... She just started teaching here this year."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. She teaches biology, environmental science and art."

Tarzan laughed. "Weird combo."

"Yes, well, she's shaping into quite the scientist. She's loved it ever since she was little, especially anything involving animals. But, she's also quite the artist. Her drawing skills are remarkable; I've got no idea where they could have come from."

"She sounds nice." Tarzan said the obligatory reply as he went back to his coffee.

When Maurice walked in and the two older gentlemen got into a discussion of their crazy new ideas for inventions, Tarzan delved contentedly into the day's newspaper.

**The beginning of October **made Aurora relax for the first time in a long while. She'd slept so well over the weekend that she had no issue waking up an hour earlier to sneak over to her spot in the woods and watch the sunrise. Now it was 7:00 and she was taking her time strolling to her car, purposefully crunching fallen leaves underfoot. She wore dark grey skinny jeans and a black tank top with a pale grey cardigan. She'd lazily stepped into her black flats and wrapped her purple scarf cozily around her throat. She'd only put on a little mascara today; Somehow her good mood made her feel prettier.

She drove to pick up Snow and Giselle at a leisurely pace. She knew neither of them were ready yet any way. She was halfway to Snow's when she heard her phone ringing. She saw it was Jasmine and quickly picked it up.

"Jazz?"

"Are you at school yet?"

"No..."

"Do you think you can pick me up?"

"I thought Aladdin was getting you?"

"His car broke down. And I don't feel like getting a ride with his friends. It's too early in the morning to put up with Flynn..."

Aurora laughed nervously. "I hear you. Give me ten minutes."

"Thank you!"

"No problem." Aurora hung up and picked up some speed, discreetly texting Snow and Giselle to hurry up.

**Belle was sitting **in the school's courtyard, her nose stuck in her favorite book. She always stopped by the little library in her town on her way to school; She was a favorite there. She'd already checked this same book out twice before, but she loved it so much she found she could just read it over and over again. The old man who ran the library laughed and told her to just keep it.

So now she sat and lost herself in the words she knew so well, but seemed to be discovering for the first time. Far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, and a prince in disguise! She sighed as she got wrapped up in the excitement, the outside world melting away...

"Belle!"

Well, almost.

Belle looked up to see Mulan walking up to greet her, waving. Belle waved back with a smile as Mulan sat with her.

"Hi, Mulan. How are you?"

"Good. Gramma didn't kill me during the car ride over here, so I'm good."

Belle laughed at Mulan's dramatics before saying, "That's good."

"Reading that book again?"

Belle grinned. "Yeah. I never get tired of it. The librarian told me to keep it."

"Oh, awesome."

"I know."

"Well, I'll let you read, then. Just wanted to say hi. See you!" Mulan got up and walked away.

"See you!" Belle called after Mulan's retreating form.

As she was getting back to her book, Mulan was suddenly in front of her again.

"Did you get contacts?"

Belle blushed. She'd hoped it wouldn't be a big deal. "Yeah... My glasses got broken over the weekend."

"You look nice." Mulan stated before taking off again. "Bye!"

Belle laughed. "Bye, Mulan." She didn't hesitate to dive back into her book, hoping there would be no more distractions.

**Aurora was lounging **next to her locker with Charlotte and Ariel. Giselle and Snow were getting breakfast from the cafeteria. Cindy was going to be late because if Anastasia and Drizella. Jasmine had ditched them for Aladdin.

Charlotte was in the middle of a thrilling story about Naveen's dimples when Giselle and Snow came running up to them.

"Have you guys seen Belle?" Giselle demanded.

"No. Why?" Aurora asked warily.

"She got contacts!" Snow squealed.

"Really?" Ariel gasped. "I've tried to convince her since like, sixth grade! What made her finally do it?"

When both Snow and Giselle shrugged, Ariel pouted. Meanwhile, Charlotte was staring blankly at her friends.

"I'm sorry. But who the hell is Belle?" Charlotte asked.

Aurora looked at her. "I thought you would know her. She's a senior, too."

Charlotte shook her head. "Nope. Never heard of her."

"She really quiet." Ariel explained.

"She spends most of her time in the library or in her dad's classroom." Giselle added.

Charlotte looked exceedingly confused. "Huh?"

"Her dad is Mr. Maurice." Aurora stated.

Charlotte continued to stare blankly at her friends.

"The physics teacher?" Ariel offered.

Charlotte threw up her hands and groaned, giving up. "Whatever! I don't care!"

"She's sitting in the courtyard! Come see." Snow chirped.

Aurora rolled her eyes as she followed her friends to gawk at Belle.

**Tiana sat beside **Belle, amused at the girl's obliviousness to the world outside her book. Tiana cleared her throat and Belle forced her attention to her friend.

"Hey, Tia." Belle smiled distractedly.

"Hi, Belle. Judging by the book, I'm guessing your morning's going well."

"By that logic, every morning would be going well..." Belle mused. "You know. Every morning, same old, same old."

"I can relate." Tiana nodded. "Buses this morning were a nightmare."

"What happened to your car?"

"Mom took the car this morning. Hers finally died."

"You should have asked me for a ride. Want me to drive you home after school?"

Tiana grinned. "That'd be great. Thanks."

"No problem. Any time you need me, just call." Belle smiled.

"Tell you what though, those buses'll wake you up." Tiana laughed. "So busy..."

"I wish something could wake me up in the morning." Belle mumbled. "My little town's so sleepy..."

"And French." Tiana joked.

Belle lived a little further from the school than the other students, in a tiny town full of French travellers. For whatever reason, French people gravitated toward that particular spot. Belle didn't really understand it, but she was kind of grateful. It was good to be surrounded by folks from her old home. Belle was proud to be French, and always invested herself in her culture. Her accent may have been softened over the last ten years since leaving France, but she was definitely still whole-heartedly foreign.

However, she didn't realize till recently how _boring _French people could be to live around.

"When do you think your daddy'll make the move to the city?" Tiana asked.

Belle shrugged. "It depends on this invention he's been working on. It's his life's work. It has to succeed..."

"So till then you've just gotta make due?"

Belle nodded tiredly. "I just have to live with it for a little while longer." She sighed.

**BELLE**

_Little town; _

_It's a quiet village. _

_Every day like the one before... _

_Little town, _

_full of little people _

_waking up to say..._

"Bonjour?" Tiana mused.

Belle laughed. "Yes, that. It's so weird; It's like, every morning, everyone's doing the exact same thing at the same exact time as they were the day before. And it just continues on and on, day after day. Just this morning, I was thinking to myself..."

**BELLE**

_There goes the baker _

_with his trade, like always! _

_The same old bread and rolls to sell!_

_Every morning just the same, _

_since the morning that we came _

_to that poor, provincial town... _

"Okay, okay." Tiana cut into the ramble. "Why don't you just tell me about that book?"

Belle grinned. "Walk with me."

**Aurora sat and skimmed **through the physics chapter she was supposed to read over the weekend while her weird friends stood huddled together behind a bush, whispering.

"I never noticed how weird her eyes were!" Snow murmured.

"What?" Cindy frowned.

"The color, I mean."

"They're hazel, Snow." Ariel said.

"They're yellow!" Snow hissed.

"I think it's kinda cool..." Giselle muttered.

"Is that Tia with her? I didn't know they hung out!" Charlotte hissed.

"They hang out all the time." Cindy stated.

"I think they're going to start a tutoring program together..." Aurora added distractedly.

"Well, she never talks about Belle." Charlotte pouted.

"You know, she's really pretty." Snow said.

"I know!" Ariel grinned. "She always has been. People just don't seem to notice..."

"She doesn't seem to notice, herself." Giselle mused.

"Well, looks don't really matter to her." Ariel replied.

"How have I never noticed her before? Why is she not my friend?" Charlotte demanded as if the others would have a viable answer.

"Well, she doesn't exactly...fit in." Giselle said carefully, avoiding Ariel's gaze.

When Charlotte looked at Ariel questioningly, Ariel sighed. "She's really smart, you know. She reads a lot. She thinks differently from a lot of people here." She sent a pointed look at Giselle, who ignored it.

"Well, if she gets along with Tia, then we must be able to coexist!" Charlotte said with that determination that could not be outmatched.

Ariel stifled a giggle. If there was one thing Ariel knew about Belle, it was that her stubbornness could easily overtake Charlotte's "lawyerism".

By now, more people were gathering in the courtyard, and Belle was gathering more and more attention. Tiana seemed to notice it more than Belle did, but she didn't say anything about it. She knew Belle didn't care.

**CHARLOTTE**

_Look, there she goes! _

_That girl is strange; _

_No question!_

**CHARLOTTE/CINDY/SNOW**

_Dazed and distracted; _

_Can't you tell?_

**GISELLE**

_Never part of any crowd!_

**AURORA**

_Because her head's up on some cloud..._

**ALL BUT ARIEL**

_No denying she's a _

_funny girl, that Belle..._

Belle glanced up absent-mindedly and saw a lot of people duck their heads as if she'd caught them staring. She raised a brow at Tiana, who just shrugged and shook her head. While Belle went back to her book and explaining it to Tiana with rapid, excited words, Tiana worked to keep the faster girl from running into anything. But, with how distracted Belle seemed, she was still alert enough to evade obstacles. Tiana followed, stunned. And kind of wishing she was as much of a morning person as the French girl.

As they passed Naveen and the guys, (The guys in this case being Charming, Ferdinand, Eric, Edward, and Hercules), Tiana caught Naveen staring at the selectively oblivious Belle. Well, all the guys were, but Naveen was the least ashamed about it. He even whistled. And when Tiana shot him a dirty look, he didn't even flinch. He just gave her his most charming smile. Tiana rolled her eyes and the two walked away, leaving Naveen staring while the other guys started talking.

**CHARMING/FERDINAND**

_Look, there she goes! _

_That girl is so peculiar! _

_I wonder if she's feeling well?_

By now, Charlotte and the girls had joined them. Charlotte gave Naveen a good smack in the back of his head. He just stared down at her, shocked that she had been able to reach that high. When met with her glare, he smiled sheepishly and immediately started to try and make amends. Meanwhile, the others were continuing:

**GIRLS**

_With a dreamy, far-off look..._

**BOYS**

_And her nose stuck in a book..._

**ALL BUT NAVEEN AND CHARLOTTE**

_What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle! _

Belle came to a halt in the middle of the courtyard, forcing Tiana to stop. Belle beamed at Tiana and pointed at some pictures in the book. Tiana decided to play along.

**BELLE**

_Oh, isn't this amazing? _

_It's my favorite part, _

_because- You'll see!_

Merida was walking by saying, "Hey, guys", when Belle stopped her and pointed to where she'd been showing Tiana. Tiana was surprised to see Merida just go with it.

**BELLE**

_Here's where she _

_meets Prince Charming! _

_But she won't discover _

_that it's him till Chapter 3!_

Merida smiled and said, "That's nice, Belle...", before wandering off again. Belle took off toward a hallway and Tiana hurried after her. Neither of them seemed aware of the group of people following them.

Naveen and Charlotte had been too busy arguing to join the group immediately, hanging back from the others. But at the height of their unintelligible rambles, Charlotte suddenly exploded:

**CHARLOTTE**

_Well, it's no wonder that _

_her name means "beauty"! _

_Her looks have got no parallel!_

Giselle and Edward rushed back to them, Giselle comforting Charlotte and leading her ahead in the group while Edward gave Naveen an amused look.

**GISELLE**

_But behind that fair facade, _

_I'm afraid she's rather odd._

**GISELLE/CHARLOTTE/EDWARD**

_Very different from the rest of us..._

**GIRLS**

_She's nothing like the rest of us..._

**ALL**

_Yes, different from the rest of us is Belle!_

Aurora looked at Ariel and said. "Isn't it weird for us to follow her around?"

Ariel shrugged. "Yeah. But at this point, I doubt she'll notice."

Aurora frowned as she followed the rest of the group. They passed Repunzal and Merida on their way. Wanting to see what all of the excitment was about, Repunzal jumped in. Merida followed her reluctantly. Aurora couldn't help thinking that eventually a sizeable crowd would form and their cover would be blown.

When Belle and Tiana stopped at Belle's locker, the group was forced to turn a sharp corner to be hidden. Hearing shuffling behind them, Belle and Tiana turned around. When they saw that the hallway was empty, they looked at each other and shrugged. Belle quickly opened her locker and pulled out her physics book, then slammed it shut and went back to reading, hurrying off and around a corner with Tiana in tow. The group jumped back to their pursuit.

Aurora felt someone nudge her and turned to see Repunzal. She grinned at the shorter girl, who was beaming up at her. She seemed to radiate sunlight, and while Aurora kind of envied the older girl's energy, she also admired it.

"So... What are we doing?" Repunzal asked her.

Aurora laughed. "Everyone wants to follow that girl around."

"Oh..." Repunzal looked confused.

"Aaaaand... Why are we doing that, exactly?" Merida's gaze travelled between Repunzal and Aurora.

Repunzal looked at Aurora for a response. Aurora shrugged and shook her head. Repunzal looked back at Merida and shrugged, making Merida roll her eyes.

They were led back to the courtyard, where Belle and Tiana sat in the grass. The group was forced to occupy a table across the way and try to act natural. Nearby, Flynn and his friends were occupying their tree and generally being nuisances. Aurora rolled her eyes when she saw Jasmine and Aladdin snuggling and enduring Flynn's teasing. After the eyeroll, a flash of red caught her eye. She turned to face it, and felt her heart stop.

She knew he'd been drunk and the incident was well over, but the sight of Gaston still made her skin crawl. Flashes from that night came to her, and she squeezed her eyes shut hoping to contain them, keep them from being real.

It wasn't just her who had been affected, she knew. That night shook everyone up. A lot of the guys had actually been injured, almost seriously so. And everyone had been so frightened that they'd hallucinated Hercules having a broken arm. But now here he was, sending Meg a confident wave with the very same arm that everyone thought had been mangled.

The whole night had been so bizarre, yet everyone seemed to have moved on. Why hadn't she?

The answer was right in front of her. She felt horror claw at her gut when she saw Gaston gawking at Belle.

_It's going to happen again._

Gaston hadn't originally been looking at Belle. His attention had originally been fixed on Phillip, with a murderous glare. While his "friend" Le Fou was rambling about some rumor going around about Vanessa and one of the teachers, Gaston watched Phillip meet with his girlfriend on the nearby grass. And then he felt his heart skip a beat and his jaw went slack.

There sat the single most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Her gleaming locks of hair were pulled away from her face, and they were the color that honey and chocolate might be if you mixed them together. Her bangs hung out around her cheeks to frame delicate features: Soft pink lips and a cute little nose, naturally rosy cheeks and creamy skin. Perfect skin. Wow, was she not wearing any make up? He couldn't help gawking; She was unreal. Her caring, thoughtful eyes were the strangest color; It had to be some kind of hazel... He'd never seen a girl like this before.

"Le Fou."

Le Fou stumbled to a halt in his words when he heard Gaston's commanding baritone. "Yes?"

"That girl." He pointed toward Belle. "Next to Tiana. Who is she?"

"Oh, that's Belle."

"Oh?" Fitting name. "What do we know about her?"

"Well, she's your physics teacher's daughter..."

Gaston frowned. He thought he recognized her. She was in his first class! But how come he hadn't noticed her before?

"Oh! She got contacts." Le Fou pointed out, just now noticing. "Wonder what happened to her glasses?"

That explained it. Gaston always immediately tuned out at the sight of glasses. He nodded along while Le Fou continued.

"She's the quiet, bookish type. Reads a lot. Kinda keeps to herself, but she's really nice to every one. Don't think she's ever had a boyfriend..." Le Fou trailed off, having just realized the basis Gaston's curiosity. He looked up at the football player meekly.

"Le Fou. I just want to know one thing. Is she crazy?"

"Well, everyone's pretty sure her dad is..."

"Well, yeah. But is _she_?"

Le Fou shook his head. "Nah. Just weird..."

This statement was greeted with a slap on his robust nose. Le Fou cried out and rubbed at his nose while Gaston chided, "Don't talk about her that way! She's just...different." He slowly smiled, his eyes fixed on Belle. "But I think I can help her fit in."

"But, dude-"

"No buts! She will be mine!" Gaston said dramatically.

"But she-"

"Is the most beautiful girl in school!"

"I guess, but she's-"

"Way hotter than Vanessa and extremely lacking the crazy!"

"I know, but-"

"That makes her the best!" He turned a scrutinizing gaze on Le Fou. "And don't I deserve the best?"

"Well, of course!" Le Fou cried, backing down.

Gaston cast one last grin in Belle's direction before turning his full attention on Le Fou, stating, "I am in love! At least, I'm close to it..."

**GASTON**

_Right from the moment when _

_I met her, saw her, I said _

_"She's gorgeous!", and I fell! _

_All around there's only she _

_who is beautiful as me! _

_So I'm making plans to woo _

_and marry Belle!_

Le Fou gave him a look as if to say, _Seriously? _, but kept his mouth shut in fear of being hit again. Gaston grinned and turned back to where Belle had been sitting with Tiana and Phillip, but was disappointed to see she had gone. He looked around to see that she was following the other two toward where the group was pretending not to stare at her. But they were moving very leisurely, and it was a long enough walk that he could catch up and introduce himself.

He took off toward her, with Le Fou following unsurely. They passed the trio of blond bimbos, who were now headed by a venomous Vanessa. The blonds sighed and started trilling:

**BIMBOS**

_Look, there he goes! _

_Isn't he dreamy? _

_Mister Gaston! _

_Oh, he's so cute! _

_Bestill my heart, _

_I'm hardly breathing!_

Vanessa suddenly cut in, her voice rough with determination and mischief. She stood and started leading the girls after Gaston, not taking her eyes off him.

**VANESSA**

_He's such a tall, dark, _

_strong and handsome brute!_

Meanwhile, Belle and Tiana were still talking.

"You know, I think I read that one once. When I was little." Tiana was saying.

"It's a great book." Belle grinned. "I've always wished that it could be real, you know? I mean, everything's so boring in that little town!"

"I hear you, girl. But there isn't much you can do about it till you graduate."

"That's what I'm worried about. What if I'm stuck there forever? I have to get out!"

**BELLE**

_There must be more than this provincial life!_

Gaston turned to Le Fou with a grin.

**GASTON**

_Guess what? I'm going to make Belle my wife!_

Le Fou rolled his eyes and Gaston chuckled, turning back around as he heard Belle groan. When he heard her musical voice ring out, he almost sighed aloud. He was too distracted to actually hear what she was saying.

"I have to go back to my locker. See you guys!"

As she course-corrected, Gaston didn't move fast enough and was cut off by the group. (Which had been added on to by Li Shang, three other Chinese football players, Meg, Flynn, Jasmine, John Smith and Nakoma.) Poor Phillip and Tiana were swept up in the crowd of people, all scurrying like a pack of rats to follow Belle. The couple looked at each other in confusion while everyone around them chattered:

**ALL**

_Look, there she goes! _

_A girl who's strange, _

_but special! _

_A most peculiar mademoiselle!_

**GIRLS**

_It's pity and a sin..._

**BOYS**

_She doesn't quite fit in! _

_She really is a funny girl..._

**GIRLS**

_A beauty, but a funny girl!_

**ALL**

_She really is a funny girl, _

_that Belle!_

They trailed her to her locker, unintentionally crowding around her. Their building volume finally made her turn to them and there was this awkward moment where they were all staring at her and she was just staring back. Then, the crowd broke apart and everyone suddenly became very busy. Flynn whistled absently, making Repunzal giggle.

Aurora rolled her eyes at her awkward friends and approached Belle with a grin, extending her hand. Belle smiled back and shook her hand without question, catching Aurora by surprise.

"Um... Hi. I'm Aurora."

"Oh, yes. Hi. I'm Belle."

Was that a French accent? Aurora chuckled in an odd way, pulling her hand back. "You're in my physics class, right?"

"Oh, yes!"

"Would you like to sit with me?"

Belle got a knowing look on her face, smirking in an almost bitter way. "Look, I know my dad's the teacher, but that doesn't mean I have access to test answers..."

Aurora blinked in surprise. "Oh, no! It's not like that! It's just that you seem really nice. I'd like for us to be friends..."

Belle smiled again, seeming relieved. "Oh, good. Then I'd be glad to sit with you."

"Great." Aurora laughed. After a few awkward seconds, she gestured toward the lingering group. "Wanna meet my friends?"

"Sure!"

As Aurora led Belle to the group, she saw Gaston and his little henchman turn the corner. When he saw her with Belle, he froze in his tracks. His look of determination melted away to a blank mask. Aurora quickly ducked her head and disappeared into the group, which greeted Belle a little too warmly.

Gaston groaned and turned on his heel, walking the opposite way. The dazed Le Fou whirled around to follow, glancing back once or twice.

_Meeting her will have to wait..._ Gaston thought, more frustrated with himself than any one else.

He passed Vanessa and the three blond girls on his way to his locker. The blonds sighed and giggled as he passed, but Vanessa stood unfazed and fixed her purple eyes on him, watching his every step. When she caught Le Fou staring at her, she sent him a sickly sweet smile that made him cower and scurry away.

Aurora watched this and thought, _Good. Let Vanessa handle him. _But the unpleasant feeling that had settled in her stomach was relentless. She put aside her nausea and turned to smile at her friends. But she couldn't help noticing that Phillip and Tiana were nowhere in sight.

As a final blow, she got to see Flynn and Repunzal flirting relentlessly over Belle's shoulder.

_All this and school hasn't even started yet. _Her thoughts were bitter but her smile perservered. It was then that the bell rang.


End file.
